Vampire Academy: Sweet Revenge
by DaniellexangL3
Summary: Revenge is certainly sweet, but not if you're the one who's wanted dead. Set after Richelle Mead's: "Last Sacrifice."
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, I'm back!**

**Okay, so this time, I've decided to go back to orignal story line of the Vampire Academy, so this story is set right after The Last Sacrifice (Not my version, but the actually book itself). **

**Anyway, it's basically about what the summary suggested, someone is out for revenge and they won't rest until they've got it. You may think you know who, but let me tell you this, once the truth is revealed, you will be shocked. So don't believe the obvious, or do... either way, this mystery will keep you guessing. **

Also, I've got a poll on my profile and I would really appreciate it if you could all answer it for me!

Anyway, enjoy the first chapter! (Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy)

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><p><span>Vampire Academy: Sweet Revenge<span>

Chapter One

OUT OF ALL THE THINGS I could have been doing with my free time, I was stuck helping Lissa get ready for an important dinner she was hosting tonight.

"Lissa, relax. You'll do fine, okay?" I said, leading her over to one of her luxurious couches. She took a deep breath as we both sunk into the comfort of the cushions.

"It's just, this is my first dinner as the Queen, and I want to make a good first impression," she said as she played with the neck of her beautiful, jade-green dress. It was strapless, and flowed to the ground in an elegant way that flattered her slim figure. Her dress was accompanied by a gorgeous diamond necklace and a tiara loaded with more diamonds. I really hoped the expression: diamonds are a girl's best friend, was wrong, otherwise I would find myself out of the job.

"Lissa, you'll be fine. Besides, you'll have me and Christian there for support."

Lissa rolled her eyes at this.

"You'll be on Guardian duty, so I won't be able to talk to you. As for Christian... Well, you know how he's been."

I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. Ever since Tasha had been locked away, Christian had been distant and moody. Lissa was trying to be supportive, but she was struggling. And all the Royal Moroi weren't exactly happy that she was dating someone who was related to the person responsible for Tatiana's death. Lissa mostly ignored them, but it was hard trying to be a good Queen when other people were constantly judging you.

Out of habit, I tried to reach into Lissa's mind to see how she was really feeling, and then sighed when I realised that the bond was gone.

"It's weird not having the bond anymore," I said, changing the subject.

"Well, it's probably stranger for you than it is for me, as I'm not the one who could read your mind. But I still feels... weird, as if something's missing, which I guess there is."

It did feel strange. But the worst thing was that without me there to help control Lissa's side affects to Spirit, she was having to try and deal with it on her own. Which wasn't easy with her being Queen and all. So Lissa was now back on anti-depressants.

"Are the pills working?" I asked.

Lissa nodded, but a look of regret swept across her face.

"Yeah, I can't touch the magic, and I know that's a good thing..."

"But you don't like being cut off from it," I finished for her.

She gave me a sad smile.

"Yeah, that about sums it up," she sighed, standing to her feet. "Anyway, you better get going so that you can get changed and be back here in time to Guard me."

I was hesitant, not wanting to leave her alone while she was feeling stressed. "Go on, I'll be fine," she said, coaxing me into hopping up from the couch.

"Okay, but I'll be back soon," I said as I headed towards the front door.

I was an inch away from the entrance when my foot made contact with something other than Lissa's carpet.

It was a note.

I turned around to let Lissa know what I'd found, but she was no longer there. She must have gone to the bathroom or something. Curiously, I picked it up and unfolded it. Okay, so I know that I shouldn't be reading other peoples notes, but it was weird that someone had slid it under her door in the first place.

The piece of paper was folded three times, and when I managed to straighten it out, I realised that this wasn't just any regular note. It wasn't typed or hand written, instead someone had cut up some magazine letters and had stuck them down to form the sentence:

WATCH YOUR BACK.

No, this wasn't a note at all. It was a threat.

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><p>I had no idea what to do about the note. It was most likely just a prank of some sort, but what if it wasn't? I knew I had to do something about it, but the big question was, do I tell Lissa? She was stressed enough as it was, and if she were to find out that someone <em>may<em>- and I emphasise on the may- be out to get her, that would probably send her over the edge. And with me not being able to take the darkness away from her anymore, that was something that I wanted to avoid at all costs. But this wasn't a decision I wanted to make on my own, so after I had made sure that the Queen's quarters were completely secured, I took a small detour to Dimitri's apartment.

"Hey Comrade," I said as Dimitri opened his door.

He was, of course, already in his Guardian uniform and ready for the dinner, unlike myself.

"Rose, why aren't you ready?" he asked as he let me inside.

"Cause I needed to talk to you about something. Something that couldn't wait."

Dimitri leaned against his kitchen counter, his eyes searching my face, trying to figure out what was wrong. When he didn't speak again, I took that as my cue to start talking.

"When I was leaving Lissa's house, I found this note," I said whilst handing it over to him. "It had been slid under her door. And well, as you can see, it's not very friendly."

I watched as his eyes raked across the note intently, the only sign of emotion was shown in the tightness in his eyebrows. Once he was done with it, he folded it back up and handed it back to me.

"Does Lissa know about this?"

I shook my head.

"No, and I don't think I should tell her, just in case it turns out to be some stupid, sick prank."

Dimitri nodded in agreement.

"That might be best for now. I'll get everyone in the Royal Guard to keep an extra eye on her though, and maybe ask for a couple of more Guardians to watch over her while we look into the note more thoroughly."

"Do you think Jill should get some extra protection too?" I asked.

Jill had been lying low, keeping out of sight from the public eye ever since the Moroi world had found out that she was Lissa's half sister. I felt bad for her. I knew it would have to be tough to be thrown into the middle of this, but Jill was strong, and I knew she would be able to handle it. But if someone was really after Lissa, then Jill could be at risk as well.

Dimitri thought for a moment before answering.

"I don't know if extra protection for Jill is necessary at this point, but I'll talk to her Guardians and ask them to be extra vigilant."

I nodded while placing the note cautiously back into my pocket, and then looked back to try and study his face.

"Do you think it's anything serious to worry about?" I asked.

I watched him as he considered this, and then he just shrugged.

"I don't know Roza; we'll just have to see how this all unfolds. But the one thing I don't get is how the person with the note was able to get past the Guardians without being seen."

I had considered this to, but the only thing I could come up with was compulsion. I shared my theory with Dimitri. "That's probably how they did it, but it seems like a lot of trouble for someone to go through just to deliver a threat, and a measly one at that." I couldn't help but agree with Dimitri.

We then discussed what actions we would take, agreeing that we would inform our superiors and talk to the Guardians on duty at the time I found the note to see if they had compulsion used on them. But other than that, we couldn't do anything else.

"So for now, we just keep a close eye on Lissa and wait to see what happens?"

He nodded in confirmation, and I sighed. Seeing this, Dimitri walked over and tilted my face so that my eyes met his own.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

I knew that none of this was funny, but I couldn't help but smile.

"I hate waiting, you know that."

He chuckled and brought his face closer to mine.

"Yes, I do know that. You've also got the worst self control I've ever seen."

This was true, so rather than deny it, I wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, "But that's not such a bad thing, is it?" I heard his breath catch in his throat, and then felt his warm, strong hands start to run through my hair. Our lips met as I tried to get as close to him as possible. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he lifted me up onto the counter so that I matched his height. I wasted no time in ripping off his shirt, and it was only when we were almost completely naked that we noticed that we were supposed to be somewhere.

We both swore and started- regretfully- putting our clothes back on.

"Stupid, royal dinner," I mumbled under my breath.

I still wasn't dressed in my Guardian uniform, so with one last quick kiss, I left Dimitri and hurried back to my own room.

I knew I was going to be late and that Lissa was going to be pissed at me, but spending those amazing few moments with Dimitri- as short as they were- was totally worth it.

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><p><strong>So that's the end of the chapter!<br>What do you all think?  
>Next chapter up soon!<br>Please R&R! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, just quickly, I would like to thank those who have read my story so far, and especially to those who have also reviewed. Also, to kittenxxkisses, your question is answered in this chapter, but if you would still like me to explain it further or if you have any more questions, just let me know (and thank you for your review!)  
>Oh, I also wanted to let you guys know that the rest of my chapters will be all around this size, and I am hoping to write around 20 chapters this time. I have a poll on my profile about the length this storyfuture stories should be, so if you could please answer that, I would really appreciate it.**

**Anyway, here's chapter two!**

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><p>YOU'D THINK, THAT BECAUSE I'M a Guardian that I would be able to stealthily sneak into a room with a bunch of snobby Royals –excluding Lissa of course- without being noticed. But no, apparently not.<p>

As soon as I entered the room, all eyes turned towards me as I sheepishly took my spot at the head of the room, directly behind Lissa. I knew by the look on her face that we were going to be having a "fun" conversation later.

I scanned the room, and my eyes immediately fell on Dimitri. I glanced at him only for a split second, but I could tell by his face that he had been highly amused by my entrance. Not wanting anyone to notice me staring at the hottest man on the planet, I decided to concentrate on Lissa instead. She looked nervous, and Christian wasn't doing much to help either. He seemed more fascinated by his empty glass, than by what was happening around him. I quickly made a mental note to speak to him later to try and snap him out of his weird state.

I kept glancing around the table, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, until my eyes fell on a familiar figure. Adrian Ivashkov, my ex-boyfriend. I had absolutely no idea that he was going to be attending, and I was fairly sure that Lissa had purposely not mentioned it because she knew how I would react.

Things had been ice cold between us ever since he had found out that I was in love with Dimitri, and he hated me because I had cheated on him. I felt awful about what I had done, and I didn't blame him for hating me, but I still stupidly wished that he would forgive me, or at least talk to me again. I had tried hundreds of times to talk to him, but it would always end with a door being slammed in my face- and I mean that literally.

Adrian looked up to meet my gaze with a glare, and then turned his attention back to a conversation taking place at his end of the table. I sighed. It was going to be a long night.

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><p>Lissa's dinner was a complete success, and when the night was finally over, Lissa, Christian and I were the only ones left in the room. Dimitri had taken off, claiming that he had important Guardian stuff to do, and Eddie- who had also been on Guardian duty- had also left claiming the same thing. But unlike Dimitri, I was pretty sure Eddie was telling the truth.<p>

We were currently sitting in one of Lissa's lounge rooms- yep, she has more than one- and a tense silence filled in the room. Christian was being his usual moody self, and was busy glaring at the floor, while Lissa was concentrating on detecting any split ends in her hair. But I knew that she wouldn't find any, not with her silky, blonde hair.

It was so tense that Lissa didn't even bother bringing up the fact that I was late for the dinner, which was something that I was secretly glad about. But I knew that I should probably say something, but I didn't know what.

Eventually, Lissa broke the silence to announce that she was going to go change out of her gorgeous dress. Christian didn't even glance in her direction as she left the room, which was extremely weird for someone who usually couldn't keep their eyes off her, even for a second. I couldn't believe his attitude. I mean, I know that he was going through a lot, but the way he was acting was getting out of hand. I needed to do something about it.

"You know you're an idiot right?" I said abruptly, my anger causing me to speak without thinking.

I waited, expecting a snarky remark in return, but instead of acting like the hot head he usually is, Christian actually agreed with me.

"I know."

"Wait. What?"

He sighed, and lifted his head to met my confused gaze.

"I know I'm being an idiot Rose."

My jaw almost hit the floor. Christian never agrees with me, especially when I insult him.

"Well, then why are you being an idiot?"

I didn't know whether Christian would want to talk to me or not, but it was worth a shot.

"Because I know a lost cause when I see one. There's no point in caring or trying anymore if it's not going to work," he said, his voice filled with misery, which is something that Christian never shows. At least, not to me.

"What's a lost cause?" I asked, still highly confused.

His eyes fell back down to the floor as he answered, "Me and Lissa."

I wasn't sure what I had expected Christian to say, but it definitely wasn't this.

"Come on Christian, you can't be serious. Lissa loves you, and I know she wants to be there for you and work things out, you've just got to..."

"The problem isn't us," he said, cutting me off. "No matter how much we might love each other, we will still have to end it."

"That makes absolutely no sense at all."

"Sure it does. Lissa is Queen now, which means she has to do what's best for everyone else. She has to have their respect, which is something that won't happen if she's dating a guy whose parents willingly turned, and who currently has an aunty locked away for murdering Tatiana." I was stunned into silence. "So as you can see, Lissa is going to be taken away from me eventually anyway, so what's the point in trying to be happy now?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was Christian really giving up? _Christian?_I knew how much Lissa loved Christian, and I knew that she would never let him go, so how come Christian couldn't see this? How could he just throw everything away so easily.

"I can't believe you," I said, catching Christian's attention. "You're right about everything you've just said. A lot of people don't want Lissa to be with you, but since when has that ever stopped you before?"

Christian was about to speak but I cut him off. "I know she's Queen and all now, but that doesn't matter. That doesn't give you the right to stop fighting for her Christian. You love her and she's loves you. And right now she needs you."

I could feel the strength of my voice radiating through every word I spoke, giving me the courage to continue. "I can't protect her as much as I used to be able to, which means you have to step up for me. Lissa's needs you in her life, which is why I know that she's fighting for you. She's not giving up on you. So don't you dare give up on her," I finished, feeling very much like one of my mother's lectures.

But I could see some of that fire Christian had been missing come back into his eyes, making it completely worth it.

"Have I just been schooled by Rose Hathaway?" He asked, his voice filled with that familiar smart arse tone.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, you have been. So you better wise up and take my advice," I said, trying to be serious again, which kind of failed.

"Well, I wouldn't want another lecture." Christian was teasing me, but I knew that he was going to try from now on.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Christian and I both looked up to Lissa entering the room.

"Nothing really," I answered, not wanting to let on to what we had really been discussing. I was sure if Christian wanted to tell Lissa, he would want to do it in private.

"Yeah, Rose has just been her usual annoying self. Won't stop talking," Christian continued, returning to his usual snarky self.

I could see Lissa watching Christian, wondering what had caused his dramatic change in character. But after a moment, she just shrugged it off and joined Christian on the couch, allowing herself to be slightly surprise for a moment when he wrapped his arm around her waist. I could tell that she was glad to finally have her old boyfriend back.

Knowing that they would have a lot to discuss, I decided to make my leave.

"Are you going already?"Lissa asked.

I knew that part of her wanted me to stay, but I could also tell that she was glad to have some alone time with Christian.

"Yeah, watching you two love birds make out is something that I don't really want to witness, no offence. Besides, I want to get some sleep before Dimitri and I have to come back and Guard you guys."

"None taken. But you better hurry, I don't know if I can hold out for that much longer," Christian remarked, not at all caring about my sudden departure.

"Okay, okay. See you guys later," I said and then hurried out of the door and into the massive hallway.

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><p>All the Dhampirs from the Royal Guard lived in small apartment rooms located in the palace, allowing us to be near the Queen's private quarters in case Guardians on duty needed back up, and gave us our own private space at the same time. I wasn't Lissa's only Guardian, she had at least twenty at her disposal, and we all rotated shifts and worked certain hours, allowing us to get some rest and just have some time out.<p>

Since Christian was the Queen's boyfriend and also a Royal, he also had a few other Guardians apart from Dimitri, which allowed both of us to have some alone time together from time to time when we weren't working. It was hard with us both being Christian and Lissa's Guardians, as it didn't leave us much time to focus on us, but we made it work.

It wasn't long until I reached my room, and when I opened my door, I headed straight for my bathroom, intent on having a steaming hot shower to loosen my stiff muscles. I know it may seem that I didn't do very much today, but standing around in one spot for hours can make you very sore.

The heat from the shower worked like a treat, and I found myself wide awake and ready for anything. Problem was that I had nothing to do. Suddenly, I felt a wave of loneliness come over me as I paced the length of my small open living room. I didn't know why, but ever since I had gotten back from being on the run, I had found it hard to be by myself, especially when I was indoors. It reminded me to much of being trapped in the Court's cells.

Not wanting to relive those moments over again, I decided to take a walk to clear my head.

I breathed in the fresh cold as I walked towards the fountain at the centre of the Royal Court. I was heading there because it was my favourite place to hang out and think. I don't know why, but the running water always seemed to help me relax and think straight. It was about six in the morning in human time, which meant that everyone at Court would be in bed by now. But as I reached the fountain, I realised that I wasn't the only one up.

"You better not be stalking me," Adrian said in an obviously annoyed voice.

"No, I always come here when I can't sleep. Not, that that's any of your business," I added in an irritated tone.

I was not in the mood to fight with Adrian. I had felt wound up and completely awake before, but now, with me standing in front of Adrian, I suddenly felt tired and grumpy.

"Whatever, you look tired though, so maybe you should just go back to bed," he said in a serious tone as his green eyes locked with mine.

My feet started to move before I realised what was happening, but when I did, I shook my head and spun around to meet Adrian face to face.

"Don't you dare use compulsion on me!" I yelled, completely pissed off now. I could understand him being angry at me, but there was no way in hell I was going to let him control me.

But Adrian just shrugged uncaringly.

"Whatever."

"Whatever? Are you serious? You can't just go around and use people like that Adrian, it's wrong," I exclaimed furiously.

"Well, I guess I should listen to you since you're the expert on using people," he spat back.

My anger halted, and I felt like someone had just slapped me in the face.

"You already know how sorry I am about that Adrian. Besides, this is completely different. This is compulsion we're talking about."

"Just leave me alone Rose," Adrian said in a stiff voice, now facing in the other direction, his back turned to me.

I was about to open my mouth to continue my rant, but the sound of a familiar voice stopped me.

"Roza," Dimitri said in a soft voice as he grabbed my hand. "Let it go."

I had no idea where Dimitri had come from, but I was glad that he was suddenly here by my side. I looked up to see that Adrian had turned back around at the arrival of Dimitri's voice, and was now glaring at him in a way that made me believe that he might actually burst into flames at any second. I had never seen Adrian act this way before, he furious. Not wanting to make Adrian even angrier, I nodded and allowed Dimitri to lead me away.

"That's right, listen to _him_," Adrian hissed before breaking off into a crazed laugh. "After all, he's the only one who can control you, isn't he?"

My hand curled into a fist, and I felt like hitting something. But not because I was angry at Adrian, but because I was angry at myself. I was the one who had treated Adrian so badly, I was the one who had caused him to stop medicating himself.

I hadn't realised until now, but ever since we had broken up, I hadn't seen him drink one drop of alcohol or smoke one single cigarette.

He was letting Spirit purposely affect him, making him act more crazy than usual.

And as Dimitri led me way, I realised that this was my entire fault.

I was the one who had finally sent Adrian Ivashkov over the edge.

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><p><strong>Hmmmm... what do we think about Adrian not medicating himself? Any theories about what's going to happen next or who's behind the note?<br>Next chapter up soon! (And this is where it starts to get interesting) ;)  
>Please remember to R&amp;R! n_n<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Just two quick notes I want to make:  
>1) I have changed my settings so that anyone who doesn't have an account can review (a.k.a an anonymous review).<br>2) I just want to thank: kittenxxkisses, ItaSaku1 and Twilighternproud for reviewing my story so far. You guys are awesome and I really appreciate your comments (you all have some really good theories too!) (P.s. kittenxxkisses- no, unfortunately I am not a published author, but I do aspire to be one day :) So thank you for saying that I could definately be one and that you'd read my books, because this comment honestly made my day!)  
><strong>**  
><strong>**  
>Also, thanks to everyone who is reading my story :)<strong>

**Anywho, onto chapter three!**

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><p><span>Chapter Three<span>

THE NEXT FEW DAYS WENT by without anymore drama, and without anymore weird notes, so I was starting to believe that the person who had sent the threat was just some freak making a joke. Dimitri and I hadn't been able to get anymore information from the note itself, and none of the Guardian's had seemed to show any signs of compulsion, so we decided that it was nothing serious to worry about. It was most likely just some stupid prank.

So with that out of the way, it seemed like there was nothing left to worry about. Well, almost nothing. I was still concerned about Adrian, especially after the other night. I had spoken to Lissa about it, and she told me that it was just his way of trying to get me out of his head, because apparently alcohol hadn't been strong enough to do the trick.

Lissa didn't seem worried, claiming that this was just Adrian's way of dealing with everything, and that he would eventually calm down and go back to normal. Well, as normal as Adrian could be that is. So I let the issue slide, on the condition that Lissa promised to keep an eye on him.

And apart from Adrian, there was also the fact that I was currently heading to the last place I ever wanted to be... the last place I ever wanted to return to.

Huh, so I guess there was still reason to worry.

"Remind me why I agreed to this," I asked Eddie as we walked side by side.

"Because you have no choice," he answered back, his tone expressionless.

I sighed, and glared at the ground.

"Just checking. 'Cause you know, if I had a choice, I would rather stick needles in my eyes than do this."

Eddie just laughed.

"Come on, don't you think your overreacting? Yes, I know that what we're about to do will be... unpleasant-"

"Uh!" I snorted.

"But we were both given direct orders and we can't ignore them, not unless you want to chuck away being Lissa's Guardian."

He had a point, but being forced to do what we were about to do, was just cruel. Okay, so maybe I've faced worse, but I still really didn't want to be in this situation.

"By the way, have you heard the news?"

"What news?"

I knew that Eddie was purposely changing the subject, but I was too intrigued to care.

"Robert Dashkov has been caught."

I stopped walking.

"What? Why?"

After I had killed his brother, Victor, I didn't think that anyone would even be after Robert. The Guardians knew what had happened to Victor, they knew what I had done, but Dimitri and Sonya had vouched that I had acted in self defence, even though I felt like I had murdered him in cold blood. Either way, I thought that was all in the past. Guess I was wrong about that.

"For kidnapping Jill- I mean Princess Dragomir, and for aiding his brother in all the other crimes they committed together," he said, tugging my sleeve to get me moving again.

"But from what I saw, Robert isn't a threat. Sure, he's a bit loopy, but that's because he's a Spirit user."

Now, believe me, I wasn't the Dashkov brother's biggest fan or anything, but I never really had a problem with Robert. If anything, I felt bad for him, because I knew firsthand what it was like to live with Spirit's side effects. And after what happened to Victor, I had truly hoped the best for him.

"Well, like most things in life, it's out of our hands."

Eddie's words brought me back to reality as we entered the nefarious building that I was going to be contained in for the next two whole hours! I know that may not seem like a long time, but when you were being forced to Guard the woman who had framed you for murder and then shot you, almost resulting in your death, then two hours seemed like a hell of a long time.

We signed in and walked through row after row of cells, until we finally reached the one I had nightmares of visiting. I avoided looking directly into the cell and concentrated on getting directions from the Guardians who we would be relieving.

"Just keep a close eye on her, and if anything happens, hit this button," one of them said, indicating to a giant red button surrounded by glass. They conversed with us for a few more minutes before heading off, promising that they would be back in two hours. Yeah, they better be, over wise I would be pissed.

"Hello Rose."

I felt my whole body tense at the sound of Tasha's voice. I could tell she was amused, which just made me even angrier. My eyes locked with Eddie's, and I could tell that he was silently warning me not to lose my temper. I was a Guardian, and I needed to stay professional.

So I just nodded in her direction. "Tasha."

She was sitting on the edge of her cot, but when she realised that she had my attention, she stood up and walked right up to the bars.

"Oh don't be like that. You know, I didn't mean to shoot you." I grimaced at the memory of the bullet entering my chest, but stayed silent. "Fine, act all uptight, but just know that I really am sorry for what I did."

I couldn't tell whether she was being sincere or not, but somehow, I really doubted that she felt bad. "Geez, you are hard to crack. Even Dimitri was easier to break."

My eyes flashed with anger, which made her smile."But then again, you're here because you've been forced against your will, whereas Dimika had no obligation to come," she taunted.

"Don't call him that," I snapped.

If there was one thing I absolutely hated in the world- apart from Stirgoi- it was Tasha calling Dimitri "Dimika." It just made my blood boil to know that they use to have such a close connection. And had he really come to see her?

"Sorry, did I hit a nerve?"

"That's enough," Eddie said firmly, locking eyes with Tasha.

"Fine," she replied, holding her hands up in defence. "I'll just go sit over on my cot and say nothing."

Keeping to her word, Tasha stayed silent, but her gaze never left my face. I tried my best not to let her words get to me, but it was hard not to get angry, not when there was the possibility that Dimitri had come to visit, and might even still be visiting this bitch.

I internally sighed. This was going to be the longest two hours of my life.

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><p>Two hours later, I found myself finally free. I knew that I was in danger of overacting, but I had to admit, having Tasha glare at me for two hours was like a form of torture. Eddie hadn't been so lucky and had to rush off to run some other errands, leaving me on my own.<p>

"Are you okay Rose?" I turned at the sound of a familiar voice, and smiled in greeting when I realised who it was.

"Oh, hey Jill. Long time no see."

She returned my smile, and started to walk beside me as I headed towards the Queen's palace, which was located at the other end of Court.

"Yeah, it has been a while hasn't it? Guess that's my fault since I've been trying to keep under the radar and all," she replied.

"I don't blame you for wanting to keep a low profile. If I was in your shoes, I would be doing the exact same thing. Besides, Royals can be quite vicious, especially in situations like this, so it's all for the best anyway," I said, trying to make her feel better.

"Yeah, I guess," she murmured. "Anyway, how are you?"

"I'm fine."

I could see Jill raise her eyebrows at me from the corner of my eyes.

"Are you sure, because you seemed kind of tense before..."

"Seriously, I'm all good. Just had to do some unpleasant Guardian work before, but it's over now, so there's no point in moping about it," I replied, trying to give her my best attempt of a smile.

"Okay, well as long as you're sure your okay..."

That's one of the things I loved about Jill. She was so sweet and caring, and really was like a little sister at times. She also knew when to let things go, unlike her older sister.

"I'm fine, but thanks for worrying about me."

We had reached the entrance of the hall that would lead me to the main room that Lissa was always in at this time of day. Jill looked around awkwardly, unsure of what she should do. "Hey, you don't have to do anything that you're not ready to do," I said softly, making sure she knew that I would understand if she didn't want to come hang out with Lissa. Things where still awkward between the two of them and things would only get worse if Jill was pressured to rush their sisterly relationship.

"Okay, well then if you don't mind, I'm going to go see my mum," she said, her face relaxing.

We said our goodbyes and then parted ways, promising each other to catch up soon for a proper chat.

Five minutes later, I found Lissa, who was just leaving her main office flanked by a group of four Guardians.

"Hey Rose, she said, greeting me with a hug. She then turned to her Royal Guardians and asked them to give us some privacy. They nodded and moved away so that they were just out of hearing range. I looked out the window, and saw the twinkling of the starts beyond the trees.

I loved this hallway, because it was the only one that had a long line of windows, making it seem more open and beautiful in comparison to the others.

"So, what's been up with you," I asked, turning my attention back towards my best friend. Her eyes fell, and I could tell that it had been a very long day for her.

"I've been in meetings all day, discussing what Tasha's punishment should be for her crimes."

I almost choked.

"Wait what? I thought that she would sentenced to death like I had been, I mean that's the law isn't it?"

"Yes, it is, but since I'm the new Queen, I have to re-evaluate all the laws and if there's one I want to change, like say the death penalty, then I have to get enough votes. Which is why I've been in meetings all day," she said, her voice tired.

"Why? Why would you help her after all she's done?"

There was a part of me that didn't want Tasha to die. Killing someone just seemed like a wrong punishment for murder; as didn't that just make us as bad as them? But still, I wouldn't go out of my way to help her, especially not after she shot me, and I didn't understand why Lissa was trying to save her as well. Or maybe I did.

"I'm not doing it for Tasha, I'm doing it for Christian and I'm doing it because of what almost happened to you. You could have been killed and I don't want that to happen to anyone..."

I heard it before I saw it, and my instincts immediately kicked in before I knew what was actually happening. As the sound of glass breaking echoed through the hall, I pushed Lissa to the ground, protecting her body with my own as everything shattered around us. I could feel shards of glass rain down on my skin, cutting me in every single place imaginable. But that didn't matter. The only thing I cared about was Lissa's safety.

Eventually, the glass stopped falling, and Guardians were there in an instant to help us up.

"Take her to a safe location," I ordered, not caring about the fact that I didn't really have any authority over them. Lissa wasn't physically hurt, but she was in shock, which was just as dangerous as any cut or wound.

The Guardians acted fast, forming a protective circle around Lissa as they carefully led her away. I was too shocked to move, and it wasn't long until other Guardians started to show up.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, bringing me back to reality.

"Roza, are you okay?" At the sound of Dimitri's voice, I turned around stiffly, trying to control my shaking. His eyes widened at the sight of me, and I looked down at my arms to see why he was staring. The glass had managed to leave some nasty cuts on my arms, as well as on my neck and face. "Come on," he said, grabbing my hand. "You need medical attention."

"Wait," I said, pulling my hand free from his grip. I had just noticed something, something that I hadn't seen before. In the wall, right where Lissa and I had been, was a silver arrow. "An arrow?" I asked. "Who in the hell uses an arrow as a weapon these days?"

Dimitri crouched down so that he was at eye level to the arrow.

"I don't think someone was using it as just a weapon."

I joined his side to see what he was looking at. And as always, he was right. The arrow wasn't just a weapon, it was also a message. One that clearly stated:

_I TOLD YOU TO WATCH YOUR BACK._

Dimitri and I looked at each other, fear mirrored in both our eyes.

This wasn't some stupid prank anymore.

Now, it was serious.

* * *

><p><strong>Hmmm... Another threatfirst attack, any more theories on who's behind it?**

**Next chapter up soon!**

**Also, please R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone!**

**I've got a new poll up on my profile (not the one about chapter lengths), so I would appreciate it if you could all answer it for me! :)**  
><strong>But apart from that, thanks to everyone who's reading my story and reviewing, I'm so glad that you're all loving this story. And according to my traffic stats, this is my most popular story so far, so I'm really glad about that :D There's so much more that's going to happen in this, and I can't wait until you guys get to read it!<strong>

**Anyway, I'll stop rambling so that you can read :) Here's Chapter Four!**

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><p><span>Chapter Four<span>

I WINCED AS ANOTHER SHARD of glass was pulled from my raw skin. There weren't too many deep cuts, it was mainly just scratches that covered my arms, neck and face, but they still stung like a bitch. I was also worried sick about Lissa, and it frustrated me like hell that I didn't have the bond anymore to check up on her. So I had to rely on Dimitri instead, who kept telling me over and over that she was fine.

And what was even more aggravating, was the fact that none of the Guardians had any idea who had shot the arrow. The attacker had apparently vanished into thin air or something.

The doctor finally finished her work and allowed me to go. On the way out, I paused to look in the mirror that was above her sink and moaned.

My arms were wrapped in long white bandages and my neck was covered in another two thick bandages. Even the right side of my face, from the bottom of my eye to my chin, was covered.

Seeing my reaction, Dimitri turned me away from the mirror and led me out of the door.

"It's not that bad," he said, trying to cheer me up.

"I look like a mummy."

"Well at least it won't be for long. The doctor said that the scratches would heal quickly and that there shouldn't be any scarring."

At the mention of the word "scarring," Tasha came into mind, and I couldn't help but start to get angry. We were outside now, and the cool wind made my scratches hurt even more, which was not helping me at all with my temper.

"Is it true that you went and saw Tasha?"

I didn't regret my words, but my tone on the other hand, was probably not necessary. I watched Dimitri's face to see his reaction, but he didn't have one.

"Yes," was all he said.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to know the answer to the exact question you just asked me."

We had stopped walking at this point, and I could now see anger start to build up in his eyes. "I've known her for a long time, and I don't know how she could have done something like this." I could hear the desperation in his voice as he turned towards me and gripped my shoulders. "Tasha murdered the Queen, and she almost killed you Rose. So I had to know why."

I didn't know what to say, so I just wrapped my arms around him and held him close. He hugged me back, and we stayed like that for a few moments, just letting each feel comforted.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have gotten angry at you. Tasha just has a way of getting under my skin," I admitted as we broke apart and started walking again.

"You mean she makes you jealous."

"No," I answered back defensively. Dimitri smirked as he raised his eyebrow at me. "Okay, maybe just a little."

I didn't know whether Dimitri had gotten the answer to his question, but I didn't want to press the issue any further. If he wanted to tell me what she had said, then I would wait until he was ready to tell me.

We had reached the location where Lissa was being kept, and found her in a room that was being heavily watched by a mass group of Guardians. Christian was by her side, his arms wrapped around her so tightly that I didn't think that he was ever going to let her go.

But somehow Lissa managed to get free to give me hug when she saw us walk in.

"Oh my gosh Rose, are you okay?" Lissa asked as she stepped back to survey the damage. It was nice to know that my best friend was concerned, but her boyfriend on the other hand, was obviously not.

"Yeah, are you okay? You look like a..."

"Shut it Ozera," I said, cutting him off. I then turned my attention back to Lissa, who was looking at my cuts intently, probably wishing that she could heal me. "I'm fine, just some scratches. But are you okay?"

Lissa nodded, but I could see the fear in her eyes.

"What's going on Rose?" Christian asked, his voice now serious.

"Well..." I looked over at Dimitri, who nodded in encouragement for me to continue. I grabbed the note that I had kept on me ever since the day I had found it, and handed it over to Lissa. "It all started with this."

Dimitri and I told her everything, and when were finished explaining, she asked only one question.

"Why didn't you tell me about the note?"

My guilt had been steadily growing since the close call with the arrow, and the disappointment in Lissa's voice only made me feel worse.

"You've had so much on your mind, and I didn't want to stress you with this, especially since we thought it was just some stupid prank." My eyes fell to the floor, not wanting to see the look on Lissa's face. "I'm really sorry."

"Me too," Dimitri said, placing his hand in mine. "We really thought we were doing the best thing for everyone."

"It's okay," Lissa replied after a few moments. "Just no more lies, okay?"

She handed me back the note and I promised not to lie to her ever again.

"So, what happens now?" Christian asked.

"Now, we figure out who's behind this," Dimitri said, glancing in my direction.

I sighed. It looked like drama was coming our way after all.

Oh well, at least it kept my life interesting.

* * *

><p>"Maybe Sonya can heal you?" Lissa suggested.<p>

Twenty-four hours had passed since the incident with the arrow, and I had a massive head ache from attempting to create a suspects list with Dimitri- and we still weren't any closer to finding the person responsible for the threats. And as much as I loved my best friend, her anxiety over my scratches, wasn't helping. Lissa was still upset over the fact that she couldn't heal me, and was trying to find other ways to help me, which was starting to drive me insane.

"Liss, I'm fine. The scratches will heal in time, my sanity on the other hand, will probably be permanently damaged if you keep fussing over me," I teased.

Lissa couldn't help but laugh.

"Fine, I'll stop worrying. But I still hate being on this medication. I mean, what would happen if you got seriously injured and I couldn't save you?"

"You forget Lissa. That's already happened, and I made a full recovery, so don't stress about it. Besides, I don't plan on getting taken out of the picture anytime soon."

I couldn't tell whether my words were the cause, but Lissa seemed to relax a little and let the issue slide.

"Hey, do you know what we haven't done in ages?"

"Blow up priceless statues with C4 supplied by my shifty father?"

Lissa rolled her eyes at me, but couldn't help but crack a smile at the memory of my escape.

"Haha. But that's not what I'm talking about."

"Then what are you talking about?"

I could start to see excitement start to light up in Lissa's eyes, which meant that I was most likely going to be forced into doing something against my will.

"Well, after everything, I think some pampering is in order."

Okay, so maybe it wasn't going to be something dreadful. Getting pampered sounded exactly what I needed at the moment, and Lissa and I hadn't spent any quality girly time together in ages, so I couldn't hold back my enthusiasm either.

"That's a great idea Liss! But when do you want to do it?"

We were currently sitting in Lissa's lounge room, but I didn't know how long that would last for until she had to run off to attend to some Queenly issues.

"Well, I have to be at a meeting soon, but I'll be free in an hour. So, how about you go and find Ambrose and see if he can come by and give us a couple of private massages?"

I agreed, mostly because I hadn't seen Ambrose in ages, and because I still hadn't thanked him for helping prove my innocence by giving me Tatiana's note.

Lissa soon left after that, and I hurried off to go find Ambrose. He wasn't hard to find, as he still worked at the spa place where Lissa and I had first met him.

"Hey Rose, it's good to see you," he said, greeting me with one of his perfect smiles.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too," I replied, genuinely happy to see him. "By the way, I've been meaning to say thank you for giving me Tatiana's note. I know that it wouldn't have been easy for you, especially during that time, so thanks."

Ambrose just shrugged.

"No problem. Besides, it's what she wanted." And by "she," I knew he was referring to Tatiana.

It was weird, in more ways than one, but I think that Ambrose really did love her. But did she love him? That was something that I would never know the answer to.

"Anyway," Ambrose continued, breaking my train of thought. "Was there any particular reason why you came to see me?"

"Oh, yeah. Lissa was wondering whether you'd be able to come by the Queen's main room and give us a couple of massages? But that's only if you're available of course."

I really only added in the last part for politeness, because we both knew that he couldn't really turn down a request from the Queen.

"Of course," he replied, his voice turning professional. "Anything for her Majesty."

"Okay cool," I said as I began to get up. "Well, I better let you continue working until we have to meet back at the..."

"Oh, that's okay, you don't need to leave. I was just about to take my break anyway, and there's also someone who has been wanting to talk to you again."

The excitement in his voice was contagious, so I couldn't help but agree to go with him. However, if I had known where we were actually going, I probably wouldn't have agreed so easily.

"Wait, isn't this your auntie's place?" I asked, my excitement slowly dimming.

Last time I had been here, Ambrose's aunt, Rhonda, had given both Dimitri and I some unpleasant readings. So, after last time, I wasn't really in the mood to deal with anything superstitious. Ever again.

"Yes, but don't worry. She promises not to deliver any bad news; she will only concentrate on the positive side of things."

"I don't know..." I started to say, but Ambrose cut me off before I could finish.

"Come on Rose, what's the worst that could happen? Besides, I thought you didn't believe in this stuff."

"I don't," I quickly argued.

But the truth was, I was actually starting to think that maybe there was some truth involved with all these superstitions. Not that I would ever admit it though.

"Great. Then you won't mind letting my aunt give you a reading, free of charge of course."

Ambrose was trying to be persuasive, but it wasn't his words that made me agree to do it, but more the fact that I knew we would be out here for the next hour arguing if I didn't just give in.

When we walked in, Ambrose didn't waste any time and led me straight to the main room, where Rhonda was sitting with her cards already in place. I couldn't help but glare at the stupid reading cards in front of her as I sat down on the floor next to Ambrose.

"Ah, Rose. I was hoping I would get to see you again," she said. "But I can tell that you haven't been hoping for the same thing." I started to deny her statement, but she held up her hands so that she could continue without my interruption. "And I don't blame you for that, especially after the dark readings I gave you and Dimitri. But I promise, all we will do today is a simple, straight forward reading."

"So, no cards?" I asked, my voice hopeful.

"No cards," she promised. I nodded my head for her to continue, my nervousness easing as she placed the cards away and out of sight. "Please, hold out your hands."

I did as she said, and gasped when her cold hands clasped around my own. She closed her eyes, and I watched her as she sat there in silence for a few moments, before opening her eyes with a smile on her face.

"What? Is there something good coming my way?" I asked eagerly.

There was nothing worse than when someone knew something that you didn't.

"Depends on the way you perceive it, on one hand you could..."

"Rhonda," Ambrose interrupted. "We don't have much time, so please just put Rose out of her misery and tell her what you saw."

I was glad that Ambrose had said that, because if he hadn't, I probably would have instead.

"Okay, fine. I'll speed it up then," Rhonda promised, looking slightly disappointed over the fact that she wouldn't be able to continue taunting me. "I did a reading of what's going to happen in your immediate future, and I saw a ring."

"A ring?"

Rhonda smiled.

"Yes dear. I also saw the colour white, along with the silhouette of a man down on his knees. Now I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty self explanatory."

I could feel my draw literally drop. A ring, the colour white and a man getting down on his knees. She didn't... she couldn't actually mean...

"Whoa. I never thought I'd see the day, but Rose Hathaway has been silenced," Ambrose mocked, waving his hand in front of my eyes to snap me out of my haze.

"Sorry, I have to go," I said, practically jumping up off the ground and running out the door.

"Remember to be on time for the massage appointment," Ambrose called out as I dashed outside.

The fresh air was cool against my skin and helped wake me up. I couldn't believe that I had just run out of that room, like some scared wimp. But I had, and it was because I was stunned at the fact that Rhonda had suggested that Dimitri might actually... propose. To me. Did he seriously want to marry me? I mean, we had only been going out for less than a month, and our relationship was already complicated enough as it was.

Dimitri was smart, and I just couldn't picture him doing something so irrational. I mean, I love Dimitri, with my whole entire heart, but that didn't mean that I was ready to get married. I mean, I was still only eighteen!

Without realising it, my feet had led me to the centre of Court, where Moroi where busy shopping in the expensive stores and gossiping away. I looked around and noticed that stores like Gucci and Ralph Lauren were swarming with customers. Hmm... There must be a sale on. And there was nothing unordinary about that, sales happened all the time.

But, the one person I never expected to see walking out of one of those stores was Dimitri. And I had just spotted him walking out of none other than Tiffany and Co. He was carrying a small bag, which he stealthily slid into one of the pockets in his duster.

But before he hid it from view, I managed to notice that it was just the right size for a box to contain a small piece of jewellery, such as a necklace, some earrings or to my sudden realisation, an engagement ring.

I stopped walking as my eyes widened in disbelief.

So, Rhonda had been right about one thing.

But the big question was, if Dimitri really did propose, would I be able to say yes?

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><p><strong>Soooo, are there wedding bells in Rose's future? What do you guys think is going to happen? And anymore ideas as to who this mysterious attacker is?<br>Next chapter up soon and don't forget to answer my poll please :D  
>Also, remember to R&amp;R :)<br>Oh, and for all those readers in Australia, I hope you're having a good school holidays n_n  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! How's it going?  
>I don't have much to say this time, so let's just get straight into it! Here's chapter five! :D<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter Five<span>

"OKAY ROSE, WHAT'S WRONG?"

Dimitri and I were currently sitting at his kitchen table, attempting once again to create a list of obvious suspects. Unfortunately, my mind was elsewhere, busy contemplating what I had seen the other day. Was Dimitri really going to purpose, did I want to get married yet, and when would he do it? These were all questions that were clouding my train of thought, and were obviously distracting me.

I had managed to meet up with Lissa yesterday in time for our massages, but I wasn't able to concentrate on relaxing, just like how I wasn't able to focus on working with Dimitri right now.

"Uh? Oh, nothing. I'm just tired."

It was the best lie that I could come up with, but I knew that Dimitri could still see right through me. Thankfully though, he let the issue go.

"Okay, well, is there anyone else you think might be out to get Lissa?" Dimitri asked, pen at the ready.

"I would say Tasha, but we both know that she killed Tatiana in hopes that Lissa would become Queen, or at least someone like her. So even though I hate her, I don't think it's her." Dimitri nodded in agreement, and wrote everything down so that he could give a detailed report back to our superiors. "Also, Avery's still locked up and has been labelled as "too insane" to be clever enough to be the master mind behind these threats. And Victor's dead, so it obviously can't be him, but what about his brother?" I knew that Robert had been locked away, but if he had escaped...

Dimitri shook his head. "No, he's still in prison; I made a call a couple of hours ago to make sure he was still there. Which brings us back to square one."

I sighed in frustration and let my head fall into my hands.

"I don't think we're going to be able to tie this to someone we know has it out for Lissa, which means that her attacker is someone new, which is going to make it even harder for us to protect her," I said, standing up to grab a drink of water. "We also need to keep an extra eye on Jill, which is something that I was thinking Eddie could do."

Dimitri was listening intently and nodding along to everything I was saying.

"You're probably right," he said after a few moments. "Which means for now, we need to double both Lissa, Christian and Jill's protection."

Dimitri vigorously wrote all of this down, then placed it in an envelope and sealed it. He then also gave a quick call to someone, explaining to them everything that we had discussed, before hanging up and turning towards me. "Okay, their protection is all sorted for now, but we also need to get back there soon so that we are able to help guard Lissa and Christian." His face seemed to fall at this realisation, and I knew why.

"Looks like our time together is going to be even more minimal," I pointed out, my heart sinking as I became aware that this might be my last chance to be alone with Dimitri for a while.

_Did that mean that he was going to purpose right now? _I mentally slapped myself for worrying about that, if it happened I would deal with it then.

"Well, we better make the most of the time we have together then," he said softly as he reached my side, taking the glass of water from my hand and placing it on the bench.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and tilted my head up, so that I was only inches away from his lips.

"This is like déjà vu," I teased.

"Luckily, we have a bit longer this time," Dimitri noted, wasting no time in bringing his lips to mine.

His lips were so soft, but fierce, causing me to shiver. I let my hands slowly wander up his shirt, lightly tracing lines on his skin before slowly pulling off his shirt.

"Roza," he whispered between kisses. I could feel his warm, strong hands running up my back as he played with the bottom of my shirt, trying to control his urge to just rip it off. But his will power failed, and my once whole shirt fell to the floor in pieces. I didn't really care, it was an old shirt anyway.

I wrapped my legs around Dimitri's waist as he lifted me up and carried me to the couch. Clothes were thrown everywhere, until there were no more to throw. I was also very happy that I had been allowed to take off my bandages that morning, as that would have definitely wrecked the mood for me.

Our bodies came together, and the passion and love I felt for Dimitri in that moment, was overwhelming.

"Let's just stay like this," I whispered some moments later.

My head was rested on Dimitri's chest, as our arms wrapped securely around each other. He was playing with my hair and kissing me on the forehead, cheek, neck, nose, everywhere but my lips. It was driving me insane.

"I wish we could Roza, but we have to leave soon."

I sighed. Dimitri was leaning down to place another kiss on my cheek, but I had other ideas. I tilted my head, catching his lips instead. Fire burned inside both of us, but I knew that we would have to break apart soon. Of course, Dimitri was the first to break the kiss, but I could tell that it killed him to do so.

As we were re-dressing, I realised that I had a problem.

"Oh crap. Dimitri, can you please go grab my Guardian uniform from my room please?"

"Why?" He asked, clearly confused. I bent down and picked up my ripped shirt.

"Well, I would go get it myself, but since you ripped my shirt in half..." I stated, unable to stop myself from laughing.

Dimitri couldn't help but chuckle either.

"Sorry, but my self control seems to waver when I'm around you."

From the look on his face, he didn't seem very sorry, but that didn't bother me. I chucked him my key and he walked out the door, promising to be back in minute.

With nothing else to do, I walked around his small apartment, tracing my fingers along the edges of everything as I went. I froze when I noticed Dimitri's duster hanging over his couch. I couldn't help but realise that the bag from Tiffany and Co. could still be in there. The same bag that had been taunting me from the moment I had seen Dimitri place it into his pocket. And what if it wasn't an engagement ring? Maybe I had been worrying myself silly for no reason. But the only way I would find that out would be to take a look.

But I had no chance to even consider taking a peak, as Dimitri was just as quick as he promised, and entered carrying my uniform. I thanked him and quickly put it on- much to Dimitri's disappointment.

"Okay, let's go," I said heading for the door. But Dimitri was quick to block my path.

"Hang on, before we go, I want to know what's going on."

Damn it, I thought he had let it go.

"What do you mean," I asked, playing dumb.

"Come on Rose, I know something's up. I can tell by the look on your face, so please just tell me."

I didn't know what to say, on one hand I wanted to know whether he really did want to get married, but on the other hand, if he really was going to propose, wouldn't me knowing about it kind of wreck it for him? "Please Roza. Just tell me, it's been driving me insane."

I sighed and quickly prayed that I wasn't about to ruin everything.

"Do you want to marry me?"

I had expected many reactions from Dimitri, but shock was not one of them.

"What?" He asked, completely stunned. "Are you proposing to me?"

"No!" I quickly replied. "What I meant was, have you been planning to propose to me?"

And there it was again. Dimitri was completely bemused, unsure of what to say.

"Uh... No. I'm sorry, but I haven't. Where did you get that idea from?"

I couldn't help but blush, completely embarrassed for jumping to such conclusions. But then again, what had been in the bag then? Not wanting to admit that I had gotten the erratic idea from one of Rhoda's readings, I just told him what I had seen.

"I saw you coming out of Tiffany and Co. with a small bag, and I thought that it might have been an engagement ring," I said sheepishly.

Dimitri just smirked.

"I'm guessing that there's more to the story than you are letting on, because I don't think that even you would jump to a conclusion like that, not when considering that I could have been buying you a necklace or earrings..."

"So, you brought me something then?" I asked, now getting excited.

"Umm... not exactly, no," Dimitri said, obviously hiding something.

I placed my hands on my hips and raised my eyebrows at him.

"Okay, since I had to tell you what was going on with me, you have to spill the beans too."

Dimitri's expression told me that that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Rose, I can't. I promised that..."

"Oh come on, are we seriously going to keep secrets from each other?"

I knew that I was being annoying, but I couldn't help it, especially when Dimitri was keeping something from me.

"Well, you're bound to fine out sooner or later, but you have to promise not to breathe a word to anyone," he finally said. I nodded and promised him that I wouldn't. "Okay then, well you were right. I did buy an engagement ring."

I could feel my eyes widen with disbelief at his words.

"But you said..." I began, but Dimitri quickly cut me off.

"I didn't buy it for you though, I bought it for Christian."

Somehow, my eyes managed to widen even more.

"Okay, please explain that sentence to me in more detail," I demanded.

Dimitri laughed.

And after convincing me that he wasn't about to run off and profess his love to my best friend's boyfriend, he revealed the truth. "What I meant was that I bought the ring on behalf of Christian. He asked me to go down to the store and pick it up for him."

Relief washed over me, leaving way for my excitement to bubble up.

"But that would mean that..."

Dimitri nodded.

"Yes. Christian is going to propose to Lissa."

* * *

><p><strong>Sooooo, Christian's going to pop the question! But will Lissa say yes? And Rose and Dimitri still have no idea who the attacker is! Do you? There's already some really good theories I've read about in some reviews, but I would love to hear some more!<br>Next chapter up soon!  
>Please remember to R&amp;R and thanks for reading!<br>(psssst! Things will start to get really interesting in chapter seven ;))**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone! Sorry for updating a couple of days later than usual! Been stuck doing heaps of homework!  
>Anyway, just wanted to quickly let you guys know that the next chapter is where all the actiondrama/angst starts to unleash!**

**But enough with my rambling, here's chapter six! :D **

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><p><span>Chapter Six<span>

THE REST OF THE WEEK was hell. No more threats or attacks were made, both Lissa and Jill were well protected and were even making some progress in their sisterly relationship, but Christian was taking forever to propose! I had expected him to pop the question to Lissa within the next day, but it had now been a week and nothing had happened. And I couldn't ask him why, because I wasn't supposed to know...

Dimitri was also no help, refusing to get into the middle of it all, which left me sitting on the sidelines unable to do anything. Lissa was also preparing to go away for a couple of weeks to a private villa up in the mountains so that she could have some quiet time with Jill, allowing them to get to know each other better.

I didn't know if that would still be happening anymore, but if it was, then the only other people coming were myself and some other Guardian's, which meant that Christian would have to make his move soon, otherwise he wouldn't get another chance for two whole weeks.

Christian and Lissa were currently having dinner while Dimitri and I acted as near Guards, while more Guardians were watching the entrance. In my opinion, now would have been the perfect chance for Christian to propose, but he didn't, choosing instead to make general conversation with Lissa.

When dinner was over, Christian excused himself to go grab a drink of water, asking me to join him in the kitchen as he went. Lissa looked just as confused as I was, but Dimitri kept a neutral composure as always.

"Okay Rose, what's with the creepy stares?" he asked as the kitchen door swung shut behind us, not even bothering to even pretend to grab a glass of water.

"What are you talking about Ozera?"

"You keep looking at me weirdly, and I want to know why," he demanded, crossing his arms in the process. Oh crap. My ability to keep secrets really needed to be worked on.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about, so if you'll excuse me."

I started to leave, but as I reached the door, that's when Christian sighed.

"I know you know Rose, it's pretty obvious. Besides, I knew that Belikov wouldn't be able to keep something like this from you," he stated, not sounding nearly as angry as I had suspected he would have been.

"So, when are you going to ask her?" I didn't bother denying it and jumped straight into the questions I had been dying to ask.

"I don't know, it's kind of hard when there are Guardian's surrounding us twenty-four-seven," he snickered.

That, was a fair point, one that I hadn't even considered before.

"I can take care of that. Dimitri and I can wait in the kitchen, mean while, you go out there and propose to Lissa. See, easy as pie," I stated, quite happy with my idea.

Christian on the other hand, was not as easily convinced.

"What happens if she says no?"

Ah, so that's what was stopping him. He didn't want Lissa to reject him.

"Listen, I know for a fact that Lissa loves you with her whole heart, and I'm basically one hundred per cent certain that she will say yes. But you'll never know unless you ask."

As Christian took in my words, a solemn look crossed his face. "What?" I asked, beginning to worry.

"I just never expected to say this, but... you're right. So get Dimitri in here so that I can go out there and propose already."

My enthusiasm reached sky high, and in my excited state, I even hugged Christian. "Okay, okay. No need to get all mushy," he remarked.

Not wanting to waste any time, I quickly dashed out the door and grabbed Dimitri, who surprisingly went without a fight. Lissa began to protest and demand what was going  
>on as Dimitri and I entered the kitchen. I knew that she would follow us, so without delay, I promptly shoved Christian out the door and then quickly closed it to give them some privacy.<p>

"You couldn't help yourself could you," Dimitri muttered as he leaned against the counter.

I tried to listen through the door, but it was too thick to hear anything. My heart sank, and I wished in that moment that I still had the bond.

"Can I ask you something?" Dimitri spoke, catching my attention. I leaned against the door and nodded. "Well I'm curious, if I had of proposed to you, what would you have said?" His question caught me off guard, and I suddenly found myself unable to speak. But with Dimitri's ability to read my face, I didn't need to. "You don't know, do you?"

"I honestly don't know whether I would have said yes or no, because I don't know if I even want to get married." I walked over to his side and looked up into his gorgeous deep, brown eyes. "I'm happy with how our relationship is going, and I don't want to rush into anything like marriage at the moment."

I was pretty sure my reasoning both shocked Dimitri and I, but he didn't show it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.

"Good, because I'm content with us just being the way we are as well," he said softly, stroking a strand of my hair back into place.

"So do you think he's proposed yet?" I asked eagerly.

"Yes, he has."

I turned around to see Lissa standing there in Christian's arms, a huge smile spread across her face. She held up her left hand to show of the ring, and I couldn't help but return her smile.

"Congratulations!" I said, practically squealing with excitement.

As I walked up to the two, I gently- well sort of gently- punched Christian in the arm. "See, didn't I tell you that she would say yes?" I teased. But Christian was in too good a mood to care.

"Look," Christian said, pointing towards a bottle of wine. "It must have been accidently left out by one of the kitchen staff. It would be a shame if it went to waste."

Taking Christian's 'subtle' hint, Dimitri grabbed the bottle along with a few glasses and popped the cork.

"Well, I think a celebration is in order," Dimitri stated, pouring the two of them a drink. As Guardian's on duty, we weren't suppose to be drinking, but we still filled a couple more glasses up so that we could at least make a toast.

"To a long and happy future together," I announced, clinking my glass with everyone else's. And that's when I caught a scent. It was subtle, and if it wasn't for my strong sense of smell, I wouldn't have picked it up.

"Stop! Don't drink the wine!" I practically yelled, causing both Christian and Lissa to freeze. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Dimitri tense as he caught onto the same scent I had, and soon after, both Lissa and Christian could smell it as well. I put the glass of wine up to my nose and sniffed.

I glanced around the room, looking into everyone's anxious faces and nodded.

It was just as they feared. The wine had been poisoned.

* * *

><p>"This is getting ridiculous!" I exclaimed, highly frustrated.<p>

"Yes, but your temper isn't helping matters," Abe stated, taking a seat on one of the kitchen chairs. My shifty father had shown up just a few hours ago, claiming that he was here to help us work out who was behind these attacks. "You need to keep a cool head if you want to work out who's behind this."

"But that's the problem! There are heaps of people out there who aren't happy about Lissa being Queen, so we can't really pin point anyone," I exclaimed, pacing around my small apartment as I fumed.

"Good thing I'm here then. Lucky for you, I have a few tricks up my sleeve." From the mischievous look on his face, I did not feel lucky at all.

"These 'tricks' better not involve any explosions," I said, my tone serious.

"Of course not, don't be silly Rosemarie. This type of case calls for some diplomacy," he stated, making me feel even more uneasy.

"Well, good luck with that then. By the way, do you have any news on what's happening with Sydney?"

Abe's face darkened.

"Well, I can't get in contact with Sydney as the Alchemist are making that impossible, but I do know that her superiors are not very happy and are keeping a very close eye on her."

"Well, then it's probably a good thing that you can't get in contact with her."

If the Alchemist were as strict as Sydney had let on, then her making the wrong move now, could  
>cost her everything.<p>

Abe said nothing to this, and instead stood up and tossed his expensive green scarf over his right shoulder.

"Sorry Rosemarie, but I have some... diplomatic matters to attend to. I'll catch up with you later. "

I rolled my eyes.

"That's a nice way of putting it."

He hugged me goodbye and then headed towards the door.

"Oh and Rose," he said, already halfway out the door. "You should really try and patch things up with Adrian; he doesn't seem to be doing so well at the moment."

And before I could start to argue, he left, leaving the door to swing back into place.

* * *

><p>"He's got a point," Lissa observed, after intently listening to my small rant about what Abe had said.<p>

After my father had left, I went back to Lissa's private quarters to Guard her, and to also express my annoyance. I was surprised to see Jill sitting on the couch when I arrived, but was glad to see that they were making even more progress. Eddie was also here, acting as Jill's main Guardian, but he was currently standing outside to secure the entrance. "I mean, I know you've tried lots of times to talk with him, but that was a while ago. And he's calmed down since the last time you saw him, so maybe if you try again, you'll have more luck."

"And it's true, he hasn't been acting as crazy, but he's still depressed," Jill added.

I was glad that Jill and Lissa were starting to get along, I just didn't like it so much when they both ganged up on me.

"Which is exactly why I should keep my distance," I pointed out. "I would only make things worse if I tried to talk to him now."

Now believe me, I really did want to try and work things out with Adrian, but I didn't think me talking to him while he's already in such a dejected mood would help matters.

"You know he's started drinking and smoking again," Lissa said, bringing me back to reality.

Her words reminded me of the conversation I had with her after I had just found out that Adrian was purposely letting Spirit get to him. Lissa hadn't been surprised when I had told her, as she had already known about it for a while.

She said he was doing it because nothing else seemed to stop him from thinking about me, so he decided to let Spirit take control. And I guess it had worked for a while, but obviously reality had caught up with him, which is why he was back to his usual self.

"Well, that's a good thing isn't it? At least this way, Spirit isn't driving him insane," I remarked as I glanced around the room, quickly taking into account every little detail- I was still on Guardian duty after all- as I did so. I looked back to see that both Lissa and Jill's expressions had darkened. "What?" I asked confused.

"Adrian isn't just drinking and smoking like he normally does," Lissa started.

"He's drinking and smoking way more heavily than usual, which is seriously not a good thing," Jill said.

And if it wasn't for the fact that what they were saying was cause for alarm, then I would have thought that Jill finishing Lissa's sentence was cute.

But before I could I say anything, Christian and Dimitri entered the room. By the look on both of their faces, I was fairly certain that they had just been to see Tasha. But as they came closer, it was obvious that something else was wrong as well.

"Christian, are you okay?" Lissa asked, standing to her feet. Dimitri joined me at my post near the window, but didn't say anything.

"No," Christian replied bluntly. He then turned towards me, a furious look on his face. "Did you send him?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, completely lost.

"Abe. When I went to visit my Aunt, your father showed up and started to interrogate her!" He exclaimed.

Ah, I thought. So that's where he had gone.

"Look Christian, I didn't have anything to do with that. I didn't even know that he was coming until he showed up at my front door."

"Either way, he thinks Tasha has something to do with the attacks on Lissa, when it's obvious that she isn't!"

Abe had sure wound Christian up, but I didn't blame him for being infuriated. I had no idea what my father was doing questioning Tasha when the Guardians had ruled her out as a suspect, and it angered me even more that he didn't trust my judgement. I didn't know what to say, but thankfully Lissa did.

"Christian, calm down, it's not Rose's fault. It's over now anyway, so just let it go," she said, her voice soft.

No one moved or spoke, afraid that it would cause Christian's anger to spark, but eventually he managed to calm down.

"Sorry Rose," he said, taking a seat on the couch. I nodded, letting him know that I was cool with it.

"Well, if that's all sorted, Jill and I have some packing to do," Lissa announced.

Christian and I almost choked from shock.

"What, you're not seriously still going are you?" Christian asked, completely bewildered.

"I thought the Guardians had cancelled it after the last incidence," I said, also not believing what I was hearing.

That's when Dimitri spoke.

"It's been decided that the trip can go ahead, but it has to be shortened to just a week. And I know that you're about to say that it's too dangerous," Dimitri stated, looking in my direction. "But she's been attacked at Court three times now, so it's probably best if she gets away from here anyway."

I had to admit, Dimitri was right. And Christian couldn't help but agree with him either. He just had one condition.

"Fine, but if Lissa's going, then so am I."

"Christian, you can't. This week is suppose to be all about me and Jill," Lissa began to protest, but Jill cut her off.

"It's okay, Christian should come. That way he can teach me some offensive magic skills while we're up there."

Jill loved the idea of being able to use her magic to fight, and frequently looked for opportunities for people to teach her. I also knew that she was letting him come for both Lissa and Christian's sake, which I was proud of her for doing so.

I still had doubts about this trip, but I couldn't stop it from going ahead, so I would just have to make sure nothing else went wrong.

Yeah, that was easier said than done.

* * *

><p><strong>Soooo, first it's the threat in the form of a note, next it was the arrow, and now it's poison! :O What do you reckon will happen next? And who's behind it?<br>I'm really excited because as I stated previously, the next chapter is where it starts to get interesting! So make sure to keep reading ;)  
>Next chapter up soon!<br>And please rate and review if you can (would really appreciate it) n_n  
>P.s. Looking for some good Vampire Academy, The Hunger Games and Ouran High School host club fanfiction stories (which is an animemanga) to read. Any suggestions? :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone!**

**So, because I updated my last chapter later than usual, I decided that I would update this one a day earlier to make up for that n_n  
>Also, a quick thank you to everyone who has reviewed, because I love getting feedback and they really do make my day :) Also, I would also like to particulary thank "Dimika's chick" for suggesting where to find some good fanfics, I'll definitely have to take a look at some from your favourites and I will also make sure to check out yours :D<br>Anyway, without further delay, here's chapter 7! :D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Seven<span>

IT SEEMED LIKE I HAD an endless list of things to worry about, and that every day, my list would get longer and longer. I knew I had to speak to Adrian, but with the trip fast approaching, I had no time. We were suppose to leave this afternoon, which meant that until then, I would have to follow Lissa around like crazy while she attempted to get ready. So my problems with Adrian would have to wait until I got back.

Eventually, everyone's bags where packed, and once the cars had been checked about one hundred times to make sure that there were no explosives or anything else wrong with them, we were finally able to go. And because Christian was now coming, that meant that Dimitri would be too, and I couldn't help but excited about that.

"Where's Eddie?" Jill asked, breaking my train of thought.

As Jill's Guardian, Eddie was suppose to be here and ready to go, but he was nowhere in sight. A few more minutes passed, and I was just about to call him when he came racing up to the cars.

"Sorry," he said, out of breath. It was obvious that he'd been running pretty fast to get here. "I was held up in HQ, and I've got a message for you Rose."

Surprised, I watched as he handed me a note, which was clearly addressed to me from Hans. I read it and moaned.

"What is it?" Dimitri asked curiously.

"Hans wants to see me after his meeting in an hour. He says for you guys to go on ahead, so I'll apparently have to meet you guys up there."

I was pretty sure that whatever Hans wanted to talk to me about could have waited until I got back from the trip, but I couldn't exactly say that to him.

"Does it say why he wants to see you?" Lissa asked.

I shook my head.

"Nope, but that doesn't matter. I've still got to follow orders, so you guys go on ahead. I'll see you soon."

My excitement seemed to slowly die as I said goodbye to everyone. They all piled into the cars, with Lissa, Jill and Christian in the back of the first one, while Eddie sat in the front passenger seat. Dimitri would of course, be driving the first car, while the second car would be filled with five- someone had been sent to replace me until I got up there- more Guardians. Dimitri was the last one to get into the car, and I could see that he was hesitant to do so.

"I'll be fine. Lissa's the one you should be worried about," I said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. It was a risky move to do something so unprofessional with so many Guardians around, but luckily, none of them saw.

He seemed to relax at my touch and nodded, giving my hand a squeeze goodbye as he hopped into the car.

"See you soon Roza," he said softly as he turned the car on.

I smiled and waved as the car slowly drove away into the distance.

"See you soon Dimitri," I whispered, knowing that no-one else could hear me.

* * *

><p>It had been half an hour since the others had left, which meant that I still had another thirty minutes to waste until I had to go see Hans. And for the whole time that I'd been wondering around waiting, I'd been trying to get the courage to go see Adrian while I still had the chance.<p>

I knew I needed to sort things out with him, so I pushed back my anxiety and started to march towards his place.

Adrian's house wasn't far away, and the path to it was also quite secluded, which I liked. There would be no one else around to run into or bother me or...

"Help!"

I stopped walking and turned to where I had heard the cry. It sounded like a child's voice, and it had come from a door that led to one of the many furnace rooms that were scattered across Court. "Help me!"

I immediately ran to the door and hurriedly thrust it open. I peered inside, but it was too dark to see much, all I could make out was some old, wooden stairs leading downwards.

"Hello?" I called out, but no-one replied. "Is anyone in here?" I asked, taking a step forward into the doorway. The room remained silent. I started to get a bad feeling, like someone was close by and that they were watching me. I shivered as I cautiously took another step forward.

Maybe I was going crazy, but I swear I had heard...

I froze. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a looming figure.

Someone was behind me. And it wasn't a Stirgoi.

I grabbed my stake and spun around to confront them, but they were faster. They lashed out, pushing my chest so that I fell backwards. I tried to keep my balance, but I lost my footing on the edge of the stairs. I let out scream as I went down head first. Every bone in my body cried out in pain as I tumbled down the stairs. And I was pretty sure that by the time I smashed into the hard, cold, concrete floor, that my ankle was broken.

I tried to get up, but I was just as quickly pushed back to the ground.

"Stay down," the voice said. I knew that voice, but I couldn't believe it. How could it be them? They couldn't be the one behind it! I then suddenly became aware of how hot it  
>was in the room. I mean, I knew it was a furnace room and all, but even then...<p>

I watched weakly as the person began to make their way back up the stairs. "This is what you deserve," they hissed as they slammed the door tightly shut behind them.

Not wasting anytime, I forced myself up so that I was sitting upright, and I immediately felt first, I thought it was just because I had hit my head, but then I realised that I could smell gas.

That's when I started to panic, because I knew that this place could go up in flames at any moment. And I couldn't just simply turn it off, because the controls were up stairs in the next room.

We had been taught all this as a part of our Guardian training. Unfortunately, they hadn't taught us what do to if there was a gas leakage and you happened to be trapped inside.

I reached into my pocket, and pulled out my completely smashed phone.

"Argh!" I screamed as I chucked it at the wall.

It was starting to get harder and harder to breath, and I knew that I needed to get out of here before I lost consciousness.

Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to my feet and limped over to the stairs. It felt like forever, but I eventually managed to climb up the steps and reach the door. I pulled and pulled, and even kicked it with my good foot, but it wouldn't budge. I then resulted to screaming for help, but I knew that no-one would hear me. After all, it was a very secluded area. God, you don't know how much I regretted those words, for I would have given anything for someone to have walked by right then.

I kept crying out and pounding on the door again and again until my hands were numb and I had no voice. My weakened legs began to give out, so I let my body crumble down to the ground. I could feel myself shaking in agony as tears cascaded down my face.

Darkness began to cloud my vision, but I welcomed it like an old friend. I knew that it would bring me peace. My eyes began to slide shut, my mind too weak to be able to keep them open anymore.

The last thing I saw was the room coming alight with fire, and then, I could feel and see no more.

* * *

><p>ADRIAN POV:<p>

Sleep. I needed sleep. I needed to escape this hell called reality and fall into dream world. Unfortunately, I didn't seem to have dreams anymore, just nightmares. _She_ was always there, no matter what, I couldn't escape her.

And this time wasn't any different. No, it was different, because when I closed my eyes, she was literally there. Her aura was so strong that I couldn't stop our dreams from connecting.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, ready to end this "dream."

But that's when I noticed how dark her aura was. And there was only one other time when I'd see her aura that dark, and that's when she'd been shot.

"I'm so sorry Adrian. I wish that I didn't hurt you, but I did, and I'm so, so sorry that you're still hurting..."

"Rose, what's going on, your aura..."

I could see tears running down her face as she took a step forward.

"It's too late. I'll be dead any minute," she said softly, averting her eyes.

My eyes widened at her words and I quickly gripped her shoulders.

"Rose, where are you? What happened?"

"The attacker... They weren't after Lissa, they were after me. They wanted revenge and so, they trapped me in the furnace room."

Rose was starting to fade away, but I couldn't let that happen, I couldn't let her die.

"Listen, just hang in there. I'll wake up and come help you and..."

The look in her eyes stopped me from talking.

"Adrian. The room is on fire." I could feel my heart shatter at her words. "It's okay, I'll be okay," she said, stroking my cheek.

I hadn't realised, but I'd been crying.

"No, Rose. You can't die," I pleaded, grabbing hold of her fast disappearing body and pulling her close.

"I'm so sorry Adrian," she whispered in my ear.

Then, before I could tell her that I didn't care about that anymore, and that I really did still care about her, she was gone. 

I cried out as I bolted upright in my bed. I dashed out of my room, and ran out the door towards where I could see the smoke. There was already a crowd of people gathered around, but I took no notice of them as I ran towards the building.

Someone grabbed my hand. It was Mia.

"Adrian, what the hell are you doing?"

"Rose. She's in there, I need to get her out," I hissed, prying my arm from her gripped.

"What! I thought she was Lissa-"

"That doesn't matter right now! I just need to get her out!"

"You can't go in there Adrian, you'll burn to death before you could reach her!"

She stood in my path, refusing to move.

"Why isn't anyone trying to stop the fire?" I demanded, trying to control my urge to push Mia to the ground.

"They're coming, the fire's only just reached people's attention," she stated, holding her ground.

I sighed in desperation.

"Mia, she can't die. I know what she did, but I don't want her to die."

I could see sorrow start to fill Mia's eyes as she watched me.

"Okay, I've got an idea," she said, quickly dashing towards the fire.

I followed close behind, hoping that I would have the chance to get inside. Mia stopped when she was next to a large pond that was located near the building and immediately got to work.

Using her powers, she started scooping up mounds of water and tipping it onto the burning building. I wanted to help, but I didn't have water as an ability. Even being a fire user would be useful in this situation, but all I had was stupid spirit. Mia was starting to get tired, but she didn't stop, and eventually, other water users began to join her along with some fire users, who tried to control the fire. Even some air users where working with the fire users to help.

I felt to useless! I needed to save Rose, but I couldn't do anything except stand there! The fire brigade soon showed up and helped put out the fire, and as soon as the flames had died enough, I rushed inside, ignoring the protests of everyone.

It was dark and dusty, and extremely hot. I didn't have to go far to find Rose, she was right near the door. Her skin was burnt badly, and she was heavily bleeding. Half her hair had been seared off, but her heart was still beating. It was very faint, but she was still alive.

Not stopping to think about what I was doing, I placed my hands on her dying body and concentrated. My healing powers weren't as strong as Lissa's, but if I could heal her, even just a little bit...

I could feel the magic flow through me and into Rose, strengthening her heart. By the time I was finished, she was still in a critical state, but I knew that I had prolonged her life, for the moment at least.

The paramedics were quick to load her into the ambulance and race her off to the hospital. And all this time, I refused to leave her side. The only time I left her was when the doctors pried me from her side and rushed her off to surgery.

They said that they would do everything that they could.

I just wish that I could have done more...

* * *

><p><strong>Soooooo, what was your reaction to that? Rose's life is on the line... again! And we now know that the attacks had been directed towards Rose, not Lissa! What is going to happen next? And who is this attacker? :O<br>Next chapter up soon! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone, I don't think there's anything that I really need to say, so let's just jump right into it shall we?**

**Here's chapter 8! n_n**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Eight<span>

DIMITRI POV

I HAD THIS OMINOUS FEELING that I couldn't seem to shake. I had been driving for almost an hour, and for the whole trip so far, I'd been worrying about Rose. Which was completely unreasonable, because I knew that she could take care of herself, but still...  
><em><br>Don't Dimitri, _I thought to myself. _You need to concentrate on keeping Lissa safe, which won't happen if you crash. So focus.  
><em>  
>And my reasoning may have worked, if it wasn't for the fact that my conscious sounded exactly like Rose. I almost laughed at the irony.<p>

"Are we almost there yet?" Christian asked in a whiny tone.

"Almost," Eddie responded, tearing his eyes away from the rear view mirror.

He'd been obsessed with keeping an eye on it for the whole trip, paranoid that someone might be following us.

"What's that sound?" Jill asked suddenly.

"What are you talking about?" Lissa questioned, just as confused as the rest of us.

"Shhh! I think someone's phone is vibrating."

We all fell silent, and sure enough, we could all hear it as well. Eddie quickly realised where it was coming from and opened up the cars small compartment box that was right  
>in front of him.<p>

"Guardian Belikov, isn't this yours?" He asked, as he pulled out a small, black, slid phone that was flashing a number I didn't recognise.

"Yes it is, would you mind answering it for me?"

Eddie nodded in understanding, and quickly hit the talk button as he raised it up to his ear.

"Guardian Belikov's phone," he stated in a formal tone. He sounded like a secretary assistant. "Wow, slow down, what are you talking... No, I can't put him on because he's driving, just..."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Eddie freeze. "Are you serious?"

"Eddie," I started, fear already beginning to build up inside me. I quickly pulled over onto the side of the road and turned to face Eddie, who still appeared to be in shock.  
>"Pass me the phone," I demanded, but he just shook his head and continued to listen intently.<p>

"Okay, don't worry, we're on our way," Eddie eventually said, hanging up the phone.

"What's going on?" Lissa and I asked at the exact same moment. Eddie looked on the verge of tears and I could tell that he was finding it difficult to speak.

"There's been another attacked," he stated, which startled everyone.

"But, Lissa's right here and..." Jill began to say, but Eddie shook his head as he turned his attention directly towards me. However, I knew exactly what he was going to say, I just couldn't bear to hear it.

"We were wrong. The attacks weren't directed towards Lissa." I could feel my heart slowly breaking as I dreaded his next words. "Whoever this attacker is, they were after Rose. And..." Eddie couldn't finish his sentence, but he didn't need to.

Everyone understood now.

I could feel tears starting to form in my eyes, but I held them back.

"Please, just tell me that she's alive," I said, desperate for ominous feeling to be wrong.

"She's alive," Eddie stated. "But just barely."

I can't remember what was said after that, all I can remember is that I turned on the car and started to speed back to Court. I needed to get to my Roza, she needed to be okay.

I wasn't going to let her die. Not again.

* * *

><p>I don't know how long it took, but we eventually got back to Court. And as soon as I had illegally parked the car, I ran to the hospital where I found Abe, Adrian and Mia standing around in the waiting room.<p>

"What the hell happened?" I demanded, locking eyes with Adrian. But Abe was the one to speak.

"That's a good question, but we're not having this discussion here. And we're definitely not starting any arguments."

From the corner of my eye, I watched as the door opened as Lissa, Christian, Jill and Eddie entered the room. Cautiously, Lissa walked up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Rose will be okay," she said, struggling to hold back her tears. "Let's all just calm down and talk this out. There's a private room across the corridor that we can use." Abe nodded in agreement, and gestured for us all to follow him as he started to move to where Lissa had indicated. "Come on," she said softly, giving my arm a tug to get me moving.

We all sat down at a small table as Lissa got someone to get us all some tea and coffee, along with some biscuits. But I couldn't eat or drink, not when Rose was somewhere in this hospital fighting for her life.

"So now that we're all here, I think it's time that you filled us in," Abe said, directing his words towards Adrian.

"I don't know much, but I'll tell you what happened," Adrian started, lifting his face to meet all of our stares. "When I was sleeping, I could feel Rose's aura. It was really strong, stronger than I've ever felt it before, and it caused our dreams to connect. And when she appeared, I could see the darkness in her aura, and I knew that she was about to...to die," he choked. "She just kept saying sorry over and over again, but I didn't care about the hurt that she had caused me." He locked eyes with me, and I could see the sorrow and regret that filled his eyes. "It didn't matter to me anymore; I just wanted to help her. She mentioned that someone was out for revenge, but she didn't say who."

It all made sense. Rose had been there every time there had been a threat or an attack, and it hadn't been specifically aimed at Lissa, we had just assumed it was...  
>I could feel my hands ball into fists as I became dizzy with rage. I would hunt down the person who did this to Rose, and I would make them pay.<p>

"And you should also know, that if it wasn't for Adrian, then Rose probably wouldn't have even made it back to the hospital alive," Mia blurted out, earning a stern look from Adrian.

This got my attention, along with everyone else's.

"Did you heal her?" Lissa asked, completely stunned.

Adrian nodded.

"I had to, I couldn't let her die. But I wasn't able to completely heal her, I'm still not as strong as you Liss. "

Everyone was silent for a while, and then I spoke.

"Thank you Adrian, for being there for her."

I think my words shocked him, but he tried not to let it show.

Then all of a sudden, the door behind us opened and in walked one of the hospital's doctors.

The woman was wearing scrubs, which indicated that she would have been one of the surgeons operating on Rose. I immediately got to my feet and walked over to her.

"Please, just tell me that she's okay," I begged, my voice so quiet that I thought she might not have heard me.

I tried to read the woman's dark blue eyes, but she gave nothing away.

"She's stable for now, but we were unable to finish the surgery as her bodies too weak. So, we'll put her in the ICU and see how she goes for the next twenty-four hours," she stated, her tone completely neutral and professional.

"And then what happens?" Lissa asked, coming to a stop beside me.

The doctor in front of us started to bow at the sight of the Queen, but Lissa quickly held up her hand to stop her.

"Well, if she makes it through those twenty four hours, then we'll go back into surgery and try again."

"That hopefully won't be necessary, I should be able to heal her in about seven hours time," Lissa explained, catching us all off guard.

"But how's that possible? You're on anti-depressants," Christian stated, clearly confused.

"Yes, but I had a bad feeling that something like this was going to happen, so I stopped taking them almost a week ago. I wish I had stopped taking them earlier, but I can feel that there almost out of my system."

"But Lissa if you..." Christian started to argue, but Abe cut him off.

"We can discuss this later," he said firmly, before turning back to the doctor. "Are we able to see her?"

The doctor nodded.

"But please, no more than two people in the room at a time. If you go upstairs, she's in the third room on the right."

"Thank you Doctor Krimmer," Lissa said, relief washing over her face. But I wasn't able to feel any sense of relief, not when my Roza was still in so much pain and on the brink of death.

We all started to leave- I had to control the urge to run to Rose's room- when Doctor Krimmer spoke.

"If it's not too much trouble your Highness, there's something I would like to discuss with you in private."

Lissa looked like it was the last thing she wanted to do, but she nodded in agreement, and gestured for us to go on ahead.

Christian stayed behind to wait for Lissa, but the rest of us all went up stairs and followed Doctor Krimmer's instructions until we were outside the door of the third room on the right.

"Abe, you and Dimitri should go first. We'll wait outside," Jill said, taking one of the five seats that were attached to a nearby wall.

Eddie, Adrian and Mia joined her, and without another word, Abe and I entered the room.

I froze.

There was Rose, my Rose, lying on the bed with burns all over her body. Half of her beautiful, long dark hair had been seared off, and her lips were so pale that she looked dead.

And I would have believed that she was, if it was not for the beeping of the machine indicating her heart beat. I could only stand there and watch as Abe walked over to her bedside and picked up her bandaged hand. He started to speak to her, but I could only hear parts of what he was saying.

"You'll be okay... Janine... here soon... hang in there... I'm going... murder... that son of a..."

It was a few minutes before I was able to move my legs, and even longer until I was able to find my voice.

"I'm sorry," I said, as I took hold of Rose's other hand and started to gently stoke it with my thumb. It felt awful being back in this position. Standing here, holding her limp hand in my own, feeling completely useless. Rose had gotten lucky with the bullet wound last time. I only hopped that she could pull through something like this again.

"It's not your fault Belikov," Abe said, his eyes never leaving his daughter's face. "There's only one person I blame, and I'm going to find them and make them regret ever laying a finger on my daughter. You can have whatever's left of them when I'm done."

I didn't doubt what he said, and I knew that if I ever found the person, no the monster, who had done this to Rose, I would do the exact same thing. I could feel my anger starting boil up inside me again, but this time I let it out.

"Well you better hope that you find them first, because if I find them before you, there will be nothing left of them."

Abe looked pleased by my statement, but didn't say anything else, which gave me a chance to think.

I knew that Lissa completely healing Rose would be very risky for her to do, but if she was just able to heal Rose a bit, to help her so that her life wasn't in any danger, then that would be better than nothing.

I just hoped that Lissa would be able to help her in time.

Because I feared that if her anti-depressants didn't wear off soon, then Rose would never wake up.

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><p><strong>That's the end of chapter 8! (Sorry that it's shorter than usual!)<br>So, will Lissa be able to heal Rose in time? And anymore ideas on who the attacker is? And what did the doctor want to talk to Lissa about?  
>Next chapter up soon! (which will be a Lissa P.O.V)<br>Thanks for continuing to read my story, and also to those who have reviewed/continue to review! You're all awesome! n_n**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm aiming for this story to be about 15 chapters long, so that means that you'll find out who the mystery attacker is soon (hint: most likely in the next few chapters)  
>But anyway, on with the story! Here's chapter nine! :D<strong>

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><p>Chapter Nine<p>

LISSA POV

THIS WAS ONE OF THE moments that made me hate being Queen. When my best friend had almost, and could still die, having a private conversation with Doctor Krimmer was the last thing I wanted to be doing. But as the Queen, I couldn't just run off and ignore her, not when she was the chief of surgery and CEO of the hospital. So, I would just have to endure a few minutes with her, and then I could go be by Rose's side until I'm able to cure her.

Doctor Krimmer politely held open the door to a secluded room and gestured for me to enter. I turned to Christian and the three Guardians who had been assigned to keep an eye on me, and told them to wait out here. Christian didn't look too pleased, but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Without another word, I entered the room and turned to face Doctor Krimmer, who had softly closed the door behind her.

"I am deeply sorry for keeping you from seeing your friend, your Highness, but it was quite important that I speak to you," she said, eyes on the floor. I didn't say anything, afraid that my tone would come off sounding irritated or offensive in some manner. Eventually she got the message and continued to speak."I wanted to talk to you about Rose. And more specifically, about your plans to cure her."

My eyes widened in surprise. Why would she want to talk about that?

"What do you mean?" I asked, confusion clear on my face.

"We all know the history about the two of you now, and about how Rose has already technically died twice before."

"And your point is?"

Doctor Krimmer sighed.

"Forgive me for speaking out of line, but I believe that if Rose is going to die, then you should just let her die."

I could feel my blood begin to boil at her words. I tried to suppress my fury, but I couldn't help my anger. How could she possibly say that? She was a doctor for goodness sake!

"You're right, you are speaking out of line."

"I know, but don't you think that if Rose dies this time, for the third time, then that's a pretty clear sign that she's not meant to be cured?" She stated, clearly not ready to give up this argument.

"No, I don't think it's a sign. Rose is a person who has been targeted and hurt far too many times in her life. She deserves to live, so I'm going to cure her, no matter what you say."

I didn't yell, but it was evident that I was furious. Doctor Krimmer even seemed to flinch a bit, for which I was glad. I didn't want to hear anymore of her opinions, so I hurriedly walked past her and threw open the door. She didn't say anything as I closed the door behind me, in fact, she even looked confused. But I didn't have time to focus on her, I needed to get to Rose.

Christian greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and curled his hand through mine as we began to walk towards the stairs.

"It's weird not having as many Guardians around," Christian stated as we made our way up the mount of steps.

"Yeah, but it's even weirder not having Rose as one of them."

I loved it whenever Rose was on Guardian duty, I always felt safer when she was around and it also just made my day that much better. If I could just reach the magic, then everything could go back to normal. And it was so close, I could almost feel it, I just needed a bit more time.

"Hey guys," Jill greeted, standing up from where she'd been sitting a moment ago. "So, what did Doctor Krimmer want?"

"Nothing interesting, just business," I lied, not wishing to dwell on what had really been said. "Is this Rose's room?" I asked, indicating to the door on the right. They all nodded, but only Eddie spoke.

"Yes, but Dimitri and Abe are already in the room, and only two at a time can be in there according to Doctor Krimmer."

"Well, I'm sure it won't matter if one more person is in there, besides Abe will need to go get Mrs Hathaway from the landing bay soon," I stated, trying to hold back from what I really wanted to say about Doctor Krimmer.

"Okay, well, if any of you need a break, just let us know," Mia said, while handing me a cardboard boxed tray carrying three coffees. I smiled in appreciation and then silently entered the room.

It was really quiet. The only noise was the sound of beeping that was coming from the machine that was monitoring Rose's pulse. Dimitri looked up at my entrance, and I could see the agony all over his face. I wondered if I looked the same way, or if I appeared even worse.

I passed the two of them the coffee, which they took gratefully. I started to sip my own, but it was hard to drink when Rose was lying there in bed, her skin so badly burnt that she was almost completely covered in bandages.

An hour or so past when Abe's phone started to ring. He quickly answered it and walked away so as not to disturb his daughter's peace. He then returned to excuse himself. Janine's plane would be arriving soon, so he needed to leave so that he could meet her at the landing bay. And without another word, he left, leaving just Dimitri and I alone with Rose.

"You know, you should go and get something to eat," I said in a concerned tone.

Dimitri looked really pale, and I knew that he hadn't eaten in ages.

"I can't leave her," he replied. I then realised that he wasn't just worried about Rose, he was also feeling guilty.

"Dimitri, this isn't your fault. There's no way you could have known that this would happen."

"But I should have. I'm a Guardian, and I knew that I shouldn't have left her. I had a feeling that she was in danger, but I just ignored it! And now, I might lose her forever."

I had never seen Dimitri this depressed before, even when Rose had been shot, he was still able to hold himself together. But this time, he seemed incapable of being the man I knew to never show his feelings. Which, in this situation, was probably a good thing.

"Dimitri, she's strong and I know that she'll make it. And if Rose was awake right now, I know that she'd be telling you to stop beating yourself up about this because it really isn't doing you, or anyone else any good," I stated, trying to make him see sense.

"You're right. Roza will make it," he said after a few moments. I knew that he still felt guilty, but getting him to have hope again was a start.

"Lissa." I turned around at the sound of my name to find Adrian standing in the doorway. "Sorry, but one of the surgeons want to speak with you. They say it's important."

I sighed. What was it now?

"Okay, where are they?"

"Down stairs in the room we were all in before," he said, adverting his eyes from Rose's bed.

"Okay, thanks," I said, not really grateful for the message at all.

I was about to leave the room with Adrian when Dimitri spoke.

"Adrian, you don't have to leave if you don't want to."

I could see that Adrian was completely surprised by his words, but didn't challenge them. Instead, he quietly headed towards where Rose lay. As I left, I could hear them start to softly speak to each other, which made me smile. It's about time those two got along.

Christian, once again, insisted on coming along with me. I didn't argue, knowing that no matter what I said, he would end up coming anyway. The three Guardians trailed behind us as well, but stayed outside the room when I asked them to.

"Does Doctor Krimmer want to talk to you again?" Christian asked. I just shrugged.

"I have no idea. All Adrian told me was that you guys got a message saying that a surgeon wanted to speak to me."

I really hoped it wasn't Doctor Krimmer, but if it was, she better be wanting to see me to apologise.

And sure enough, when I opened the door, the person I had been wanting to forget about was there.

As soon as I entered the room, she turned towards me and started to speak.

"Your Majesty! Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for whatever I might have said! I can't remember the conversation we had, all I can re-call is you getting really angry and storming out of the room! So for whatever I might have said to make you angry, know that I am so very sorry!"

It was fair to say, that her words shocked me.

"Are you serious?" I asked. She nodded, looking quite confused herself. I started to pace around the room until an idea came to mind. I froze. "If what you're saying is true, then you were probably under compulsion, which means that... Oh crap!"

Without another moment to think, I threw open the door and screamed. All three Guardians had been knocked out, and Christian lay flat on the floor, also unconscious. I started to turn around to warn Doctor Krimmer to run and get help, but as I did, something hard connected with my head and I fell to the floor.

My vision was blurry, but I could make out Doctor Krimmer standing over me with a leg of a chair in her hand.

She was smiling, and from the look in her eyes, I could tell that she was under compulsion.

I tried to muster another scream, but before I could, everything went black.

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><p><strong>Oh no! What's going on and what will happen next? :O Anymore ideas on who this attacker is?<br>Next chapter up soon!  
>Please remember to R&amp;R :D <strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! I am so sorry for the delay! I've been so busy with exams, and therefore haven't had a chance to update!** **But I am all finished with them now, which means I can focus on finishing this story!  
>But anyway, on with the story! Here's chapter 10! n_n<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter Ten<span>

DIMITRI POV

It had been about an hour since Lissa had left, which was starting to concern me. I didn't want to leave Rose's side, but I had a feeling that something was going on, something horrible. And if I had learned anything from today, it was that I needed to trust my instincts.

"Do you want me to leave?" Adrian asked, pulling me away from my train of thought.

"What? No, it's fine."

"But you seem on edge, and if me being here is making you uncomfortable..."

"No, it's not that. There's just something I need to do, but I don't want to leave Rose," I admitted.

I had stupidly left my phone and ear piece in the car, so I wouldn't even be able to phone Lissa's Guardians and check up on them from here, which meant that I would have to track them down by foot.

"If it's important, then Rose would want you to do it. And if it helps, I'll be here to keep an eye on her."

Adrian was right, if Lissa really was in danger, then Rose would want me to help her.

I nodded.  
>"Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can."<p>

I slowly leaned down and softly placed a kiss on Rose's cheek. I didn't know whether she could really hear me or not, but I whispered "I love you" in her ear before letting go of her delicate hand and heading towards the door.

It physically pained me to leave her. It was like my heart was hooked to hers and the further away I got from Rose, the more it ripped mine apart. But I needed to do this, I knew something wasn't right, so before I could change my mind, I hurried out the door.

Eddie, Jill and Mia were no-where in sight, which started to make me mentally panic. The optimistic side of me was hoping that they had just gone to get some more coffee, while the pessimistic side of me just hoped they weren't dead.

And it wasn't just the three of them missing, the whole floor seemed deserted. Yep, something was definitely wrong. I needed to find the others, but before I could do that, I needed to make sure that Rose stayed protected. So I quickly re-opened the door to her room and called Adrian over.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but you need to keep this door locked while I go find out. Do not open it under any circumstances, okay?"

He nodded and promised to do just that. So without wasting any more time, I closed the door again and waited for the click of the lock before hurrying off down the corridor.  
>The elevator wouldn't work, and by the fact that the lights were still working, I knew that this wasn't an electrical problem. So I took the stairs, trying not to let the sound of my feet echo as I went. I came to a halt at the exit, and grabbed my stake from my belt before pushing against the heavy door.<p>

I didn't know what I'd be up against, but it was best to be prepared for the worst. And the worst was Stirgoi. But just like the previous floor, the area was empty. I walked out into the open to investigate, but there was still no-one to be seen. Then I heard something. It sounded like someone was banging against a wall, but it was muffled. I concentrated, and paced back and forth until I was able to locate where the noise was coming from. The elevator.

"Who's in there?" I called out, pressing my ear against the wall to hear the reply.

"Belikov, is that you?" I knew that voice.

"Christian? Hang on, I'll get you out of there."

Taking my stake, I placed it in between the two metal doors and pushed. It took a while, but I was eventually able to pry it open. And when I was finally able see inside, it became clear that Christian wasn't the only one trapped inside. Lissa, Mia, Jill, Eddie and all the Guardians who had been ordered to escort the Queen where all in there as well. Most of them were unconscious, only Christian, Eddie and Jill were awake.

"What's going on?"

I turned around to see Janine Hathaway striding towards us, her eyes scanning the perimeter as she went. Abe followed close behind.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," I replied, turning back to Christian.

"I'm not sure what's going on, all I know is that it's not good. All I can remember is waiting outside one of the meeting rooms for Lissa, when all of a sudden something collided with my head, knocking me out," he answered grudgingly. Lissa, who was currently in Christian's arms, began to stir. Her eyes slowly flickered open, and then she froze. "Lissa, are you okay?"

She didn't answer Christian, but after a few moments of silence, she abruptly sat up.

"Oh no!" She yelled as she struggled to her feet.

"What?" Jill asked, helping both Lissa and Christian get up.

"The person who's after Rose, is a spirit user!" She exclaimed.

"What? How do you know this?" Janine asked, while gesturing for them to exit the elevator.

"Because I found out that Doctor Krimmer was being compelled, which means that there's probably even more people being controlled."

"So what you're saying is that right now, in this very hospital, there are people being controlled by the same psycho who's been attempting to kill Rose?" Eddie questioned, looking horrified.

I started to back away.  
><em><br>'Yes, that's exactly what she means_' I thought before thrusting open the door to the stairs. I bolted up the steps, ignoring everyone's protests. Rose was still alive, but that would change if I couldn't make it back in time.  
><em><br>BANG! _

My heart was pounding a million miles an hour as I rushed through the hallway, pushing my body to the limit.

"No!" I yelled as I saw the door to Rose's room ripped from its hinges. I pulled out my stake again, and got ready to strike as I flew around the corner and into the dark room.

"Dimitri! Watch out!" A voice, which I identified as Adrian's, called out.

But it was too late. I was flung to the floor, which caused my stake to slide out of my grip and far away from my reach. I struggled, but it was no use. I could feel strong arms-more than just one persons- wrap around me as they pulled me to my feet. And that's when I noticed Adrian. He was also being held captive by the point of a gun. And the person holding the weapon to his head was a doctor.

Lissa was right, compulsion was definitely being used.

"Belikov," a voice hissed.

I turned my head towards where Rose laid, and almost gasped at the person standing in front of her bed.

"Robert?" I stuttered, not believing my eyes. "But how? You're in jail!"

He shrugged.

"I was, but now I'm not. Now, I am here, and now, I want her dead," he stated viciously, glancing back to where Rose laid unconscious and to my horror, unprotected.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!" I yelled, putting all my will power into trying to get free from the people's grasp.

"I'm not going to touch her." I watched him as he paced around to the other side of the bed. He stopped when he reached the machine. "I'm just going to flick this switch."

My stomached dropped. That was Rose's life support, without it, she would die. Neither Janine or the others had shown up, which meant that they were mostly likely being attacked as well. I needed to stop Robert, otherwise I would lose Roza forever.

Not wasting any time to think things through, I threw my head back as hard as I could into my targets face. I heard a crunching sound, followed by a scream, which gave me the opportunity to escape. It also gave Adrian the perfect distraction needed for him to get free as well. One of the men who had been holding me were already down, and it didn't take long for me knock out the other.

They may have been under compulsion, but that still didn't make them a match for a Guardian. Or even Adrian as it turned out, who had managed to gain possession of the gun, which he used to club the doctor over the head with. But what shocked me more was when I turned around to see him pointing the weapon at Robert.

"Go ahead and try," Robert taunted while standing behind the machine. "See if you can kill me without killing her!"

"Adrian," I began, trying to sound calm. "Do not shoot. You might hit the machine."

Adrian was definitely not a fighter, but he was still impulsive, especially when he was angry. I could see that his hands were shaking, but he still refused to lower his weapon.

"Come on! Either shoot now, or I pull the plug!"

"Adrian. Don't!" I pleaded, trying to come up with a plan to get out of this mess. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Robert shrugged.

"Fine then, I'll just rip the cord out of the machine, and end the life of the demon who murdered my..."

BANG!

I froze.

I looked over to where Adrian stood, and noticed that he hadn't moved. He looked just as shocked as I did. And that's when I noticed Janine. She was in the entrance, her hand clasped around a gun.

Laughter sounded, bringing my attention back to Robert.

"Nice shot!" He exclaimed while blood poured from his chest. "I'm no good with guns, which is why I always carry a knife! And since you've decided to show your skills with the gun, why don't I show you how good I am with a knife!"

It all happened so fast. I remember rushing forward, trying to reach Robert before he could make his move. But before I could get there, he brought his knife down and sliced Rose's neck.

"NO! ROSE!" I screamed. I reached her side, and immediately tried to stop the bleeding, but nothing I did worked. I tried to find her pulse, but to my horror, there was none! Robert had collapsed, but I didn't care about him. I just wanted my Roza back! "COME ON ROSE! COME BACK TO ME! PLEASE!"

Janine and Adrian were there now, and they were both crying and screaming. I could see from the corner of my eye that Adrian was desperately trying to use Spirit to bring Rose back, but it wasn't working. He wasn't strong enough.

"NO!" Another scream came from behind us, but none of us turned around to see who it was. I started pressing my hands against Rose's chest, trying to get her heart to restart, but it wouldn't! "MOVE!" The voice ordered.

And then, before I could doing anything, I was shoved out of the way. Lissa stood before me, with tears streaming down her face. She placed her hands on Rose's still and unmoving body and closed her eyes as she bit her lip in concentration.

"COME ON! WORK! WORK!" She yelled, trying to get through to her magic. "I NEED HER! LET ME BRING HER BACK!"

And that's when Lissa collapsed to the ground.

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><p><strong>So, the mystery attacker was Robert! Well done to all the readers who guessed this! But how could it have been him when Dimitri had been told that he was still in jail? And what's happened to Lissa? Will she be able to save Rose? All answers will be revealed in the next chapter!<br>Next chapter will be up soon! (I promise!)  
>And please keep those reviews coming; they really help keep me motivated to write! And I just love hearing everyone's feedback!<br>And once again, thanks for reading my story, and especially to those who review! You're all awesome! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi everyone! Just wanted to quickly let you know that this story has almost come to an end. There will be only maybe two more chapters after this one, which is sad, but also good in a way, because it gives me the chance to start on a new story! :) Anyway, enjoy! Here's chapter 11! n_n**

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><p><span>Chapter Eleven<span>

ROSE POV

I COULDN'T MOVE, AND MY eyes could only register darkness. I knew that I wasn't dead, but I wasn't able to wake myself up either. I could still hear noises, people talking, machines beeping, which meant that I still had a chance to live. I just needed to stay strong and get through this so that I could come back to reality.

Time seemed to go on forever, and all I could do was just wait and listen.

"You know, you should go and get something to eat."

That was Lissa's voice. It had been a while since someone had spoken after my father's depature, so I almost jumped- figuratively of course- in surprise when I heard my best friend's voice.

"I can't leave her," Dimitri answered back, his voice filled with complete misery.

I hated hearing such sorrow in his voice, but what made me even more upset was the fact that I could also hear guilt in his tone as well.

"Dimitri, this isn't your fault. There's no way you could have known that this would happen."

"But I should have. I'm a Guardian, and I knew that I shouldn't have left her. I had a feeling that she was in danger, but I just ignored it! And now, I might lose her forever." __

_'This isn't your fault Dimitri!'_ Is what I wanted to scream, but my mouth refused to move.

"Dimitri, she's strong and I know that she'll make it. And if Rose was awake right now, I know that she'd be telling you to stop beating yourself up about this because it really isn't doing you, or anyone else any good."

I would have smiled if my body had allowed it. Lissa was right, that's exactly what I would have said. A few moments passed before Dimitri spoke again.

"You're right. Roza will make it."

I could still hear the guilt in his voice, but I could also tell that he had some new found hope, which made me even more determined to live.

I've already evaded death twice, I could do it again.

Adrian then came in after that and delivered a message to Lissa. Someone needed to speak to Lissa immediately, but I could tell by the tone in Lissa's reply that she did not want to leave. But being the Queen forced her to do things she didn't want to, so she agreed to meet with them. This didn't shock me, I knew that Lissa would always put others needs before herself, but what did shock me was when Dimitri told Adrian he could stay.

They even started to talk, which surprised me even more. They weren't acting like best friends, but they weren't about to rip each other's throats out either, which was definitely a change of pace.

"Have you tried reaching her through your dreams?" Dimitri asked, trying to avoid any uncomfortable silence.

"Yes, I've tried, but her subconscious is too deep for me to make a connection with her. It's like she's in limbo," Adrian answered back in an irritated tone.

I started to wonder how many times he had tried to reach me, which brought back memories of our last moment together. That look of absolute hatred on his face when Adrian had first appeared in my dream caused a shiver to run down my spine.

He had every right to never want to speak to me again, but as soon as he realised I was in trouble, he was immediately willing to put his life on the line to save me. By then though, I thought it was too late.

But Adrian proved me wrong, and I somehow ended up in the hospital. I could tell that that was where I was by the constant beeping of machines, and well, just by common sense really. I mean, I was trapped in a burning building for goodness sake, where else would they bring me to? A cave?

Dimitri and Adrian didn't talk much after that, which made me feel lonely. I couldn't move, speak, see, smell or feel, but I could still hear. And Dimitri's voice would be so soothing to listen to, if only he would say something. I didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually, Adrian broke the silence.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"What? No, it's fine," came Dimitri's reply. He had obviously been deep in thought.

"But you seem on edge, and if me being here is making you uncomfortable..."

"No, it's not that. There's just something I need to do, but I don't want to leave Rose."

I'll admit, the thought of Dimitri leaving my side did make me feel sad, but if he had to go do something, then he should just go do it.

"If it's important, then Rose would want you to do it. And if it helps, I'll be here to keep an eye on her."

Well, it didn't seem like I needed my voice, everyone seemed to know me well enough to speak on my behalf.

It took Dimitri a few moments, but eventually he agreed.

"Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can."

I listened out for footsteps, but there were none. Instead, I heard Dimitri's soft voice whisper, "I love you," which just made me want to cry.

Why couldn't I just say those three words back to him? Why did I have to be trapped in stupid limbo? Then the sound of footsteps sounded, and I could hear a door open and close. I had a bad feeling, like something else was about to happen. I just hoped that Dimitri would come back to me; I didn't think that I could keep fighting if he didn't return.

Adrian didn't say much, but he would occasionally murmur encouraging words such as: "Come on little Dhampir, you're tough, you can get through this," and "I've got a block of chocolate waiting for you, so just keep fighting Rose." And I must admit, the last one did grab my attention.

He also left for a few seconds to talk to someone at the door, but I couldn't hear who the other person was- I assumed it was Dimitri though- or hear what they were saying, but I could tell that whatever they were talking about wasn't good as I was able to distinguish the sound of the door locking before Adrian returned to my side. He didn't say a word after that.

Then, after a while, I finally heard something.

BANG!

Adrian swore, and I could hear him spin around to face where I guessed was the door.

"Back off!" Adrian yelled, panic clear in his voice.

_ What's going on? _

"Deal with him," a voice hissed. I mentally gasped. I knew that voice. It was Victor's brother Robert, the same guy who had trapped me in the furnace room in attempt to kill me. My memory had been fuzzy, but the sound of Robert's voice had cleared it completely.

It was pretty obvious why he was here now. I was still alive, so he needed to finish off the job he started.

"NO! LET GO!" I could hear the sound of Adrian struggling, which made me start to scream inside!

I needed to wake up! I needed to help him!

"DON'T YOU DARE GO NEAR HER YOU... AHH!" Adrian's sentence was cut off by a shriek.

I wasn't sure, but it sounded like he had just been punched in the face.

"NO!" I new voice yelled. It was Dimitri. 

_Come on body, just move! Please, just let me wake up! _

"Dimitri! Watch out!" Adrian exclaimed, but the noises that followed his warning told me that Dimitri had just been thrown to the floor. 

_No! Please, don't hurt them! _

"Belikov."

I would have cringed at the sound of Roberts voice if I could have. He sounded close, as if he was right next to me.

"Robert?" I heard Dimitri stutter in disbelief. "But how? You're in jail!"

He sounded so far away compared to Robert, which meant that I was defenceless. 

_Damn body, why won't you move! _

"I was, but now I'm not. Now, I am here, and now, I want her dead."

Crap. I really did hate being right. But why else would he be here?

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!" Dimitri yelled, fear clear in his voice.

I knew that he was desperately trying to figure a way out of this situation, but time was running out.

"I'm not going to touch her." I could hear footsteps moving around to the other side of my bed, towards where the beeping was coming from. "I'm just going to flick this switch."

Ah, so the machine was my life support. It was the one thing keeping me in this world, and without it, I was sure that I would never wake up.

Then I heard a scream, but it wasn't one I recognised. The sound of fighting filled the air, and then all fell silent. The only thing I heard after that was the sound of a gun being loaded.

"Go ahead and try," Robert said abruptly, sounding even more crazed than usual. "See if you can kill me without killing her!"

"Adrian," Dimitri called out, trying to sound calm. "Do not shoot. You might hit the machine."

Ah, so Adrian had the gun. But he had never even shot a gun before in his life, so the chances of him hitting Robert whilst managing to avoid the machine, would be next to impossible.

"Come on! Either shoot now, or I pull the plug!" 

_No! I just need some more time! I need to wake up! _

"Adrian. Don't!"

"Fine then, I'll just rip the cord out of the machine, and end the life of the demon who murdered my..."

BANG!

I expected to feel something, but I didn't. Nothing had changed, which is when I realised that the machine was still beeping.

"Nice shot," the voice next to me exclaimed. What had happened? Had Robert really been shot, or was he just taunting? "I'm no good with guns, which is why I always carry a knife!"

And that's when I finally felt something. It was both sharp and cold, and I could feel it run across my neck.

It only lasted a split second, but I had still felt it. And even thought it had been painful, it was good to finally be able to feel, even if it meant that I was going to die.

I slipped into a deeper state of darkness, but unlike before, I was finally able to see things. But just not things, people. But I guess the better word to use would be ghosts.

This was it, I was actually dead. But somehow, I felt okay with that. It was my time to leave this world and move onto the next, wherever that was. Was that here? Somehow, I didn't think it was.

And that's when I realised the hole. Ghost were swarming around it, and many of them were entering it willingly, while others were trying to fight against the force that I suddenly realised, was trying to pull all of us in. And I had a feeling that once I crossed through that hole, I wouldn't be coming back. And that broke my heart. I wouldn't get to see my friends and family again, nor would I ever be able to kiss Dimitri or feel his warm, secure arms around my body.

This was it, this was the end.

The hole was drawing closer and closer, and I had come to accept what was about to happen.

And then, I started to feel a warmth spreading through me. I knew this feeling. It was Spirit. Lissa was trying to bring me back!

I was so close to the hole now; I was only a few seconds away from being forced through. But I no longer wanted to give up. I could feel again, which made me realise that I still had the rest of my life to live, and I wasn't just about to let myself die. So I started to fight the force that was trying to pull me through. It was strong, but I was a Dhampir. I knew I could do this! 

_Come on Lissa! We can do this!_

I pushed and pushed myself to the limit, refusing to let myself cross over into the other world. I wondered whether I had been in this situation before, and if had done the exact same thing I was doing now.

The warmth continue to flow, and I could feel myself heating up.

Then, the darkness started to fall away, and I could start to see a light. I know that sounds really cheesy, but it's true. And eventually, all the darkness disappeared.

The brightness was welcoming, but I had to blink a few times to get use to the light.

"Roza?"

I froze.

My vision was still blurry, but I was still able to make out a dark figure standing in front of me. And I immediately knew who it was.

"Dimitri?"

I forced my hands to reach up and grab the man in front of me, to make sure that what I was seeing was real. I sighed in relief when I felt soft, warm skin under my fingers.

My eyes then came into focus, and I looked up to see the most wonderful sight imaginable. Dimitri's warm brown eyes looking back at me. He smiled, which made me start to cry.

But I wasn't upset. I was just so glad to be alive.

Dimitri brushed my tears away, and kissed me lightly on the lips.

"Welcome back Rose."

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><p><strong>So Rose lives! Again... lol What did you guys think?<br>****And is there anything in particular you guys want to see in the last couple of chapters of this story, or in any of my future VA stories?  
>Next chapter up soon!<br>Please remember to R&R! :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone! I still don't know whether I'll be doing either two more chapters after this one, or just one big one to finish it off. But either way, it will be up in the next seven days or so. But let me know if you guys have any suggestions on the way you want me to do it, and/or if there's anything you want to see in the last chapter :)  
>Anyway, on with the story! Here's chapter Twelve! :)<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter Twelve<span>

IT FELT SO GOOD TO be awake. I was still stuck in hospital, which was annoying as hell because I just wanted to get out of the stuffy little room I was currently trapped in, but on the positive side, I had plenty of people to keep me company. Even Adrian would come and visited me, which gave me the chance to thank him over and over again for helping to save my life, and also allowed me to apologise for hurting him so badly. But Adrian didn't care about that anymore, he was just happy that I was alive. We still had a while to go until we could go back to being really good friends again, but at least we were making some progress.

I couldn't remember anything that had happened while I'd been unconscious, which meant that my friends and parents had to fill me in. Dimitri had discovered that the Guards who had been assigned to Robert's cell had been influenced by compulsion to believe that he was actually still in there, which was why we had no reason to believe that it could have been him behind the attacks, as we had been led to accept that he had been under lock and key the whole time. Besides, I had honestly believed that he was harmless. Obviously, I'd been so wrong.

And since it had been proven that compulsion had been used, everyone involved with the case had to undergo a test, and after some further investigation, it was found that Eddie had also been affected. He had been used to deliver the threat letter to Lissa's door, which was actually really smart of Robert, as Eddie hadn't technically been on duty at that time, which is why we didn't question him with the other Guardians who had been working at the time I found the letter. And because Eddie was one of the Queen's protectors, none of the other Guardians on duty had thought to mention that they had seen him hanging around the Queen's private quarters on the day the threat had been discovered.

One of the men a part of Lissa's kitchen staff had also been used by Robert to leave the bottle of wine in attempt to poison me, whilst making it look like he was really after the Queen. No-one else a part from the doctors in the hospital had been found to be under the influence of compulsion, which meant that either Robert himself had shot the arrow, or he had payed a complete stranger to do it for him. Either way, it was going to take a while until we found out who was responsible for that particular attack.

The note from Hans was a fake. Robert had somehow managed to gain control of Hans, and used him to give Eddie the note to pass along to me. Robert must have figured that if Eddie were to have given me the note whilst being under his control once again, that Lissa would have been able to tell that Spirit was being used, which would have ruined his whole plan completely.

But I believed the note, I had no reason to be suspicious of Hans, and I really did think that Lissa was the one the attacker was after. So, I stayed behind and waited to meet up with Hans, which is when Robert decided to follow me and lure me into one of the furnace rooms. I couldn't remember what had happened, which I was kind of glad about, but according to the doctors and Adrian, I must have taken a fall because I had quite a few broken bones.

One thing was certain though; I had definitely been purposely trapped in the fire. I still had some burn marks on me, but Lissa had managed to get rid of most of them when she brought me back to life. Half of my hair, on the other hand, had been completely burnt off. So now, it sat just above my shoulders, which really annoyed me. I knew that Dimitri loved my long, dark hair, and even though he said that he didn't mind and that the important thing was that I was still alive, I could see that he still missed it.

But I was alive, and that was all thanks to Lissa. When Robert had cut my throat, I had literally died. But somehow, Lissa was able to reach her magic and bring me back. It had caused her to faint, but she was back to normal after a couple of hours. All my other friends where fine as well. There had been a fight going on whilst Dimitri and Adrian where trying to protect my unconscious form, but no one had been hurt.

There was one more thing I had discovered when I woke up though. And that was that I could read Lissa's thoughts. Because she had brought me back, we were now bonded again. Lissa was happy that I was alive, but she wasn't so happy about being bonded again.

She didn't like the idea of me being in her head again, and she hated the thought of me taking away her darkness even more. But I was overjoyed. I had missed the bond when we had lost it, and now that we had it back, it meant that I could protect Lissa better.

Dimitri had a few things to say about this though.

"Just try not to rely on the bond too much this time, I don't want the darkness of Spirit to overwhelm you again."

And by again, I knew he was referring to the moment when I had lost it in the car park when we were rescuing Jill a few months ago. Spirit had literally caused me to go insane, which led to me viciously killing Victor like a savage monster. The only thing that had saved me was Sonya's spirit induced Jewellery, which had helped to keep the darkness at bay.

"It's my job to protect Lissa, and if that means taking the darkness away from her to stop her from going insane, then so be it," I replied, while attempting to get out of my hospital bed.

Dimitri and I were currently alone in my room, but I was sick of laying down, I needed to get up and move about.

"You need to look after yourself to," he said softly, while helping me to my feet.

It felt so weird trying to walk after being in a bed for so long, and I felt so weak, but the urge to stretch my body and to move around was too strong to ignore.

"I know, and I will try. But if it comes down to me or her, I'll always choose her."

Dimitri sighed.

"I know you will, I just don't want to lose you."

I stopped walking, and slowly brought his face down to mine and kissed him full on the lips.

"You won't lose me," I whispered. "I'll always come back to you."

I could feel him smile against my lips as he chuckled.

"Yes, well I'm starting to think you're invincible."

"Well of course I'm invincible comrade. I'm Rose Hathaway," I stated, turning my attention back to attempting to walk properly.

Dimitri laughed again, but before he could say anything else, Lissa walked into the room, followed closely by Christian. Their Guardians were stationed outside.

"Oh good, I'm glad to see that you're back on your feet again," Lissa said, an excited glint in her eye.

I could sense through the bond that she was over the moon about something, and that she had some exciting news, but I couldn't tell what.

"And why would that be?" I asked curiously.

"Because, Christian and I are getting married next week," she announced, as Christian wrapped his arms around her.

I wasn't surprised by their news, I knew that they had wanted to get married sometime soon due to everything that had happened over the past week. They didn't want to waste any time, so they had been busy over the past couple of days trying to come up with a date. "And of course, you'll be my maid of honour Rose," Lissa stated, bringing me back to reality.

I smiled.

"Of course."

"Great! Well then, we better start planning! We should start by choosing a venue, oh and then a..."

"Lissa, aren't you forgetting something?" Christian interjected.

"Oh right, here you go Rose."

Lissa handed me some pieces of paper, to which I gazed at completely confused, until I realised what they where.

"Yes! Release forms! I can finally get out of this place!" I exclaimed, wasting no time in signing the form and packing all my stuff up. I made a move to grab my bag, but Dimitri bet me to it.

"You're not allowed to do any kind of strenuous activity, and that includes carrying a bag," he said after seeing my annoyed reaction.

I raised my eyebrow at him.

"So... no kind of strenuous activity _at all_?"I whispered sensually, hoping that he would understand the double meaning in my voice.

He chuckled.

"We'll just have to be more... gentle, than usual," he whispered back, sending shivers up my spine.

Yep, I really couldn't wait to get back home now.

We all left the hospital, but not long after, Lissa and Christian had to head off with their Guardians to attend another meeting about Tasha's sentence. They were still trying to change the law so that it didn't include a death sentence anymore. And after thinking about it, I hoped that Lissa would be able to do it, because we really didn't have the right to determine the fate of other's lives.

So with that, Dimitri and I headed off, knowing that we wouldn't have long together until my parents came knocking, or until Lissa turned up wanting to discuss more wedding stuff.

As we entered my apartment, I was suddenly lifted from the ground, and found myself in Dimitri's arms. He kicked the door shut behind us, and wasted no time in bringing his lips to mine. I let my fingers run through his soft, brown hair, as we made our way to the bedroom. I could tell that he was truly trying to be careful, afraid that he would hurt me. But I wasn't worried at all. I just wanted to be as close to him as physically possible.

We reached the bed, and fell onto the soft, warm sheets without breaking apart. I ripped off his shirt and threw it to the ground, while Dimitri slid his hands up my own and slipped mine off with just as much speed. More and more clothes came off until we were completely bare. I sighed with ecstasy as our bodies pressed together. Dimitri kept whispering my name over and over again, and placed kisses all over my body as we moulded together. I never wanted this to end.

But then, a knock sounded at the door.

Crap.

As much as I loved being alive, reality still sucked sometimes.

"I bet that's Abe at the door, he said that he would come by at some point to check up on me," I grumbled as we hurriedly put our clothes back on.

"Well, I better go answer the door before he starts to get suspicious," Dimitri said as he pulled on his duster and headed towards the door.

With no time to find a brush, I hastily dragged my fingers through my hair in attempt to neaten it, and then sat down on the couch, to make it appear as if we had just being relaxing in my small lounge room.

But all our efforts had been for nothing. It turned out that Abe wasn't the one behind the door, it was Doctor Krimmer.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt," she said, directing her words towards Dimitri. "But I was wondering whether I could have a word with Rose?"

Hearing my name, I got to my feet and made my way to the door.

"Sure, but what's this about?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I've been wanting to talk to you about something ever since you woke up the other week, but the investigation has been stopping me from doing so, and I also wanted to make sure that you were in a stable enough condition before I had this... particular conversation with you."

Her words began to make me nervous.

"Why?"

She didn't say anything, and instead glanced towards where Dimitri was standing, unsure of whether I wanted him to hear what she had to say. "It's okay, I don't mind him being here."

At my words, she nodded in understanding and then suggested that we all take a seat on the couch. Once seated, Doctor Krimmer took a deep breath, and then looked me in the eyes.

"Okay, so before I fill you in on what's going on, I need to ask you some questions first if that's okay?" I nodded in approval, and she continued. "Are you and Guardian Belikov currently dating?"

"Yes," I replied. "But that's not news; most of Court already know that."

She ignored my remark and continued on with the questions.

"Are you currently sexually active?"

I blushed, and was about to ask why the hell she wanted to know that when Dimitri grabbed hold of my hand to stop me, and nodded in reply to the Doctor's question. I just wanted to go hide in my room, was it even possible that these questions could get even more embarrassing. It turned out that they could.

"A part from Guardian Belikov, have you been sexually active with anyone else in the past few months?"

"What? No! Of course not!" I answered back, almost shouting in anger.

I really hated these questions. Why did she need to know all of this?

"I'm sorry, but it was necessary that I had the answers to these questions before I continued," she stated.

"And why is that?" Dimitri asked, clearly just asked confused as I was.

"Well, when you came into surgery, we discovered something..." Doctor Krimmer began.

My heart stopped.

What did they find? A tumour? Ten years worth of bubble gum?

I could feel Dimitri's hand tighten as he tried to decipher the Doctor's words. "There's no easy to go about this, so I'm just going to go ahead and say it. Rose, what we found when operating was a five week old embryo."

No-one moved, or even dared to breathe.

"Are you serious?" I asked, in complete shock. "But that's impossible; Dhampir couples can't conceive a baby! You can't actually be saying that I'm... pregnant!"

Doctor Krimmer's eyes gazed sadly to the floor, and I suddenly realised that I had misunderstood.

"No, you're not pregnant anymore." She paused and then looked up at me once again. "I'm sorry Rose, but the baby didn't make it."

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><p><strong>I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but include one more shock factor! So, what do you guys think? And how is it possible that Rose became pregnant?<br>Next chapter up soon!  
>P.s. Thanks for all your reviews so far, I love them all! :D <strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone!  
>I am so sorry for not being able to update this chapter sooner! My internet decided to stop working, so I couldn't upload!<br>Anywho, I decided to make this, the second last chapter, so there's still one more to come!  
>(Note: I purposely made the wedding a back ground story line, as I didn't want it to take over the importance of what was happening to Rose).<strong>

****Anywho, on with the story! Here's chapter 13! ****

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><p><span>Chapter Thirteen<span>

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO do, or what to say. All I could do was bury my face in my hands, and try to understand how all of this could have happened.  
>A few moments passed, and then Dimitri's arms were around me. He placed me in his lap, and caressed me as he whispered softly in my ear.<p>

"It's okay, it will be okay," he repeated over and over.

It took a while before I could find my voice, but eventually, I was able to speak.

"How is this possible?"

Doctor Krimmer gave me a sad smile.

"That's what I want to know as well," she replied. "I'm assuming it has something to do with the fact the Dimitri was turned back into a Dhampir using Spirit, but I won't know the true answer until we run an investigation."

I used the back of my hand to wipe way the tears that had managed to escape my eyes. This was too much for me to cope with. How could I have been carrying a child for five weeks, and then lost it without even realising?

"And that's why your here," Dimitri pointed out, while trying to stay calm and collected.

"Yes, I will eventually need to run some tests on you Guardian Belikov, but we don't have to discuss this right now," she said, while gathering her things and making her way to the door. "I'll leave you so you can have some alone time together, but know that we'll eventually have to continue this conversation."

"Why?" I asked, completely confused as to why it was so vital that she had to run an investigation.

"Because, if we can figure out how Dimitri is able to conceive with you, then it might help us find a way to help all Dhampirs have children with other Dhampirs."

I couldn't believe her words. If what she was saying was true, then this would cause the Dhampir population to increase, which means we would have more Guardians. No longer would Dhampir women have to have sleazy relationships with Moroi men. Everyone could finally be with who they wanted to be, and Dhampirs could even have the opportunity to start families together. Even Dimitri and I could eventually...

Oh no.

"Rose, are you okay?" Dimitri asked, shaking my shoulders slightly.

Taking this as her cue to leave, Doctor Krimmer silently exited the room.

"Dimitri, before Doctor Krimmer came, we were _together_. And if what she says is true, that could mean that I could end up..." I choked at the end of my sentence, unable to say the word that I knew we were both thinking. "We've already lost a baby that neither of us even knew about, and I'm not ready to be mother yet. I'm only eighteen for goodness sake!"

Dimitri's arms tightened around me as he tried to come up with something to say. But he couldn't.

Infuriated, I gingerly got off his lap and started pacing around the room. "If I end up pregnant, everyone will look down upon me even more, I won't be able to protect Lissa anymore, and you'll probably leave me..."

Dimitri was at my side in less than a second. His lips silenced my barely coherent ramblings.

I didn't mean the last part, but in my unstable state of mind, I couldn't help but say the thought out loud. Abe had left my mother, and what would stop Dimitri from doing the same thing to me?

"Not matter what happens, I'm not leaving you, okay? I love you Roza. And nothing is ever going to change that." Dimitri spoke with such fierce compassion; I couldn't help but believe him.

"Do you even want a baby though?" I had never asked Dimitri his thoughts about having children, but that was mostly because I was under the impression that it was impossible for us to even have them.

"I don't know Roza. I never thought I'd be able to have children with you, so I haven't even let the thought cross my mind." He lifted my chin so that his deep, gorgeous brown eyes were looking directly into mine. "But I believe that if we're meant to have a child together, then we'll have one. I love you, and if you end up being pregnant, then I will take that as a blessing, not a curse."

He kissed the corner of my mouth, causing me to slightly smile.

Dimitri's words made me feel a lot better. Being a vampire had its perks, but it also had its downside. My body was a lot different compared to a human's, which meant that I didn't have as many options when it came to the possibility of being pregnant. If a human girl had unprotected sex, and was afraid of falling pregnant, then she could just take a tablet known as the "morning after pill," which would stop her egg from being fertilised. I, on the other hand, couldn't use it. The pill had been proven not to work for both Moroi and Dhampir females.

But even if I could have used it, I don't know that I would have, but I still liked the idea of having more options than I currently did. Vampires could only use condoms as a form of protection. But if it broke, or you didn't use one, then you only had two options if you ended up falling pregnant. Have a baby or get an abortion. And there was no way I was going to do the latter one.

"Well, until we know for sure, I don't want anyone else knowing. My cycle is suppose to start in a week, and if it doesn't, then I'll take a test."

"But, Lissa's wedding is in a week," Dimitri said, pointing out what I had already realised.

"Exactly. Which is why she can't know about any of this. It's her wedding, so all the focus should be on her. Not on me," I stated bluntly, avoiding Dimitri's anxious stare.

"But Rose, you need to look after yourself. You've been through a lot this past week, and today hasn't made things any easier for you." I knew he was right, but that didn't mean I had to make Lissa's week just as bad as mine.

"I'll take care of myself, I promise. But Lissa doesn't need to know."

Dimitri sighed, and brushed back a fallen strand of hair off his face. He seemed to realise that he wasn't going to win this argument.

"I'm so sorry."

I frowned at this.

"Don't you dare apologise Dimitri. This isn't your fault. None of it is."

I cupped his face in my hands and brought his lips down to mine. "I love you," I whispered before eagerly pressing my lips to his.

"I love you too," he replied softly once we had broken apart.

I didn't want to leave him, but I could sense through the bond that Lissa's meeting had finished, and that she was on her way to find me. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep a calm composure whilst still around Dimitri, which meant that I would have to meet up with her before she reached my apartment.

"I have to go."

"Lissa?"

I nodded and he hugged me one last time, before we made our way to the door. He was probably going to head back to his own room before he had to go Guard Christian.

I locked the door behind me, and then turned to face Dimitri.

"We will get through this Rose," he said softly as he placed one last kiss on my cheek, before slowly turning away and walking down the hall. I watched him go. And as I did, I couldn't help but smile. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have a baby with the man I loved.

ONE WEEK LATER:

"Lissa, you look absolutely gorgeous."

I smiled warmly at my best friend as she entered the room in her beautifully hand stitched, pure white wedding gown. It was strapless, and fitted her body perfectly. It had intricate details on the dress, and gathered slightly at her left hip, before flowing to ground in a stunning train.

She also wore the brightest smile I had ever seen. And even though my thoughts were troubled by other matters, I knew that there was no way I could spoil her day by telling her what I had been going though this past week, and this entire day while she'd been getting ready.

"As do you," she said, taking notice of my bright red dress that she had picked out for me and the other bridesmaids. "You look like a real Rose!"

I snorted.

"I was waiting for it."

I knew that Lissa wouldn't be able to help herself. She loved finding excuses to make fun of my name sake.

Lissa couldn't help but laugh.

It was just under ten minutes until the ceremony would begin, and I was just about to make up some excuse so that I could sneak off to use the bathroom- one that wasn't in this room- when Mia and Jill waltzed in. They both stared wide eyed when they caught sight of Lissa.

"Whoa, you look amazing!" They both said in unison, which caused everyone to laugh again. I was just about to try and make my getaway again, when Dimitri, Abe, Adrian and Eddie walked in. Their arrival meant that the ceremony was about to begin.

I internally sighed. It looked like I would have to wait until after the wedding.

All the men commented on how beautiful Lissa looked, which just made her smile grow even bigger. Dimitri joined my side, and from just the look in his eyes, I knew what he was asking.  
><em><br>Have you done it yet?  
><em>  
>I faintly shook my head, and then whispered under my breath, "But I'm late."<p>

I could see concern fill Dimitri's eyes, but not over the thought of me being pregnant, but over the thought that I might not be coping. I gave him a warm smile, and gently kissed his cheek as a sign to let him know that I was fine. He seemed to relax after this.

Music began to blare through the halls, which was our cue to get ready. Eddie, who was Christian's best man, linked arms with Jill and then proceeded down the hall. They would enter the church first.

Next was Adrian with Mia, and after ten seconds of waiting, they made their way down the hall as well.

Dimitri and I got ready, and as we waited for our cue, I looked back and smiled at Lissa and Abe. I was so grateful for my father to agree to walk Lissa down the aisle. Since her father had passed away, and she had no-one who really resembled a father figure, Abe had stepped up and offered to be the one to give her away to Christian.

The seconds passed by, and then Dimitri and I were making our way down the short hall, and then into the church. As we walked down the aisle, there were hundreds of smiling faces. It was of course, the Queens wedding after all, but the mass number of eyes on Dimitri and I, started to make me nervous. So instead, I focused on Dimitri's warm, strong arm that was intertwined with mine, which helped me to relax.

We eventually reached the alter, where we reluctantly parted ways. He joined Christian on his side, and I went to join Mia and Jill on the other side, where Lissa would soon stand. Christian looked so nervous, that I thought he was about to pass out. But when Lissa entered the church, his smile was the biggest I'd ever seen him wear. And I knew in that moment, that no-one would be more right for Lissa than Christian.

Abe gave Lissa away to Christian, and then joined my mother in the front row. Christian and Lissa gazed into each other's eyes, and I could tell that they didn't seem to care that there were hundreds of other people watching them. Because in their minds, it was just the two of them.

They said their vows, and then finally, they said the words that everyone had been waiting to hear for quite some time.

"I do."

The crowd cheered and clapped as Christian wrapped his arms around his new wife and kissed her passionately on the lips.

And just like that, they were married. I smiled and clapped as Lissa and Christian walked back down the aisle and then disappeared out the door. No-one would be seeing them until the reception, which wasn't until another half an hour. Which gave me just enough time to go and do what I needed to do.

But first, I would need to make an escape.

"Rose!" My mother called.

Crap.

"Go. I'll handle this," Dimitri said hurriedly, making his way towards my parents.

I smiled. He really was a brave man.

And without further delay, I rushed out the back door, and for once was thankful that Moroi chose to run on a nocturnal schedule, as the darkness would hide me from prying eyes.

It didn't take me long to find a public rest room, and when I entered, I was grateful to find it empty. Taking a deep breath, I entered one of the stalls and locked the door behind me. I gingerly reached into my bag, and brought out the pregnancy kit I had purchased- which had been harder done than said.

I read the instructions, which were simple enough. I had to pee on the stick, and then wait five minutes. If a plus came up, then I was pregnant. If a minus came up, then I wasn't. Yeah, sure. It was all so simple.

I did as it said, and then placed the stick on top of the toilet where the flush button was, and then began to wait.

Even though I was late, I knew that didn't mean that I was definitely pregnant. I had been really stressed this week, and when I'm stressed, I sometimes miss, or end up getting my period later than usual. So, it was still a fifty/fifty chance of me being pregnant.

I didn't know what I wanted. And I hated that. But what I hated more, was the fact that this little stick was about to determine the rest of my future. I began to wonder whether my mum had felt like this, which made me feel guilty over the things I had said to her in the past about her being a bad mother. Because she hadn't been. After falling pregnant, she had chosen to still have me, which made her one of the strongest woman alive in my book.

And I knew that if a plus showed up on that little stick, then I would do everything I could to follow in my mum's footsteps to make her proud. If she could do it, then so could I.

Noticing the time, I took in a deep breath, and then let it out.

The five minutes were up.

Closing my eyes, I reached out and picked up the stick, whilst trying to stop my hand from shaking as I did.  
><em><br>I can do this_, I thought to myself. _Just open your eyes and accept what is._

Knowing that there was no going back now, I opened my eyes and looked down at the pregnancy stick in my hands.

I gasped. _  
><em>

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><p><strong>Hehehe, sorry, I couldn't help but do one last cliff hanger! So what do you guys think? Is Rose pregnant, or is it just stress?<br>One more chapter to go!  
>Next chapter up soon! :)<br>Side note: Thank you all so much for all your reviews, and to everyone who is reading this story! I reached 40 reviews the other day, which just made me soooo excited! That has been my goal from the beginning, and it makes me so happy to know that so many people are enjoying my story, and are also willing to give me such awesome advice. You're all awesome! 3  
>Will have news on my future story projects at the end of the nextlast chapter, so keep an eye out for that :)**


	14. Epilogue

**UPDATE (12/11/2013): NEW STORY- Vampire Academy: Broken Bond- After a 2 year break, I'm back! If you want to give this new story a read, you can find it on my profile.**

**Hope to hear from my old readers again! :D**

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVVVV**

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><p><strong>Hey everyone! Sorry for taking so long to publish this last chapterepilogue, I've just had a bit of writer's block, which is one of the main reasons why this chapter is so short. But, the other main reason is because I like last chapters to be short and sweet, as I don't like them to ramble on, and it also gives me a chance to continue the story if I want to, or maybe do some one-shots.**

**Oh, and there's just one comment I got from a reviewer that I want to address. This person was confused as they didn't know how Rose could have any possibility of getting pregnant on the same day she lost a baby. And I just wanted let them know that when Doctor Krimmer came over to their apartment, she was telling them that they had found a six week year old embryo when she had been undergoing surgery, but the embryo hadn't survived like Rose had. But this operation took place the "other week" (and the time shift is stated in my story), meaning that they had lost the baby about a week or so ago (not on the same day Rose and Dimitri... well, you know haha). And it is actually possible to get pregnant a week after having a miscarriage (I did some research), but even if it wasn't, Rose is still a vampire and this is a fictional story. But yeah, sorry for confusing you! And thank you for commenting on this, as I now know to make things like this clearer in future stories, so thanks heaps for your review, and I hope this has helped you understand :)**

**But is Rose even pregnant? Hmmm...**

**Anyway, here's the last chapter! Enjoy! :)**

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><p><span>Epilogue<span>

_**One year later...**_

IT HAD BEEN A VERY hectic year. So many things had changed, but this wasn't such a bad thing. Christian and Lissa were both happily married and were even planning on starting a family soon. The death sentence had been revoked, and was no longer allowed to be used. So Tasha now has to spend the rest of her life in prison instead, which means that Christian doesn't have to lose his aunty.

My scars are all gone, thanks to Lissa's healing, and my hair has grown a bit longer as well. It now sits just below my shoulders, and even though it's not at its original length yet, I know it won't be long until it grows back to the way it was.

Doctor Krimmer has started studying both Dimitri and I to try and work out the reason behind how we are able to conceive, but she hasn't managed to figure it out yet. Though, she still believes it has something to do with Spirit.

But Dimitri and I don't really care about the reasons behind how, we were just happy being together.

With our baby.

"How's my two favourite girls?"

I turned at the sound of Dimitri's voice, as he leaned over the couch and gently scooped up Aleksandra from my arms. I smiled as I watched him kiss our daughter fondly on the nose.

"Would be better if I got a kiss as well," I answered back teasingly.

While cradling our daughter in his arms, Dimitri joined me on the couch and chuckled.

"Well, come and get one then."

And so I did. Being careful of Aleksandra's head, I leaned over and lightly brushed my lips against his.

"I'll have to leave soon," I said softly, my voice full of longing. I was on guardian duty soon, which meant that I wouldn't get to see Dimitri until the morning. And even then, we would only get a few hours together before he would have to go Guard Christian again.

Having a child meant that we couldn't work the same hours each other, meaning that we didn't get to see each other as often, but at the same time it was still worth it.

When the pregnancy stick turned out to be positive, I was completely scared. I couldn't move, and for a complete hour, I just sat there in the toilet cubical until my mum came and found me. As soon as I heard her voice call out my name, I ran into her arms and burst into tears. I told her everything, and at first she was just as shocked as I was, but then she took control.

She told me over and over that everything would be okay, and that she would support me and help me get through this. And she did. My mother was with me every step of the way, well not literally as she had to leave and Guard her Moroi family, but she would still call me almost every day, and would give me some really good advice.

Dimitri had been amazing as well. He would never leave my side, and would always make sure that I was okay. He was even brave enough to stay with me when I had to give the news to my father, who was not very happy about me being pregnant. Abe was angry at first, but then his attitude changed once he spoke to my mother. After that, he started to be more supportive. After all, he had been in the same position as us.

All my friends were really supportive as well, but of course there were those who couldn't help but stare. But, I just ignored those judgmental looks and all the gossip. Not many people believed that Dimitri was the father of the baby, so they started spreading rumours that I had slept with Adrian and that he was the real father.

But I couldn't care less what these people were saying though, and neither did Dimitri. Even Adrian didn't seem bothered by these rumours, but then again, he was back to drinking alcohol. Not as heavily as before, but enough to help him control Spirit.

I haven't seen Adrian in a while. He doesn't hate me anymore, but I think it still hurts him to see Dimitri and I together, and with a child no less. Lissa keeps telling me that he'll eventually move on, and when he does, we'll be able to go back to being friends. I just hope she's right.

I glanced down at my watch and realised that it was time to go. I sighed and reluctantly got off the couch, and then started searching for my shoes.

"We live in a small apartment, yet you still manage to lose stuff," Dimitri stated teasingly.

I grinned as I leaned down to look under the couch. But after a thorough search, my shoes were still no-where to be seen.

"It's a talent. I used to lose stuff all the time in my old room back at the academy, and that was about the size of our kitchen."

I got off the floor, finally coming to the conclusion that they weren't in the lounge room when my eyes locked on something Dimitri was holding in his hand. He had my shoes.

"What would you do without me?"

I chuckled as I grabbed my shoes and slipped them on.

"Well, that's something I never want to find out. But one thing's for sure, I'd probably end up walking around the place half naked always in search for my clothes."

Dimitri raised his eyebrows at this.

"That's not a bad thing," he mumbled, as his eyes raked across my body longingly.

Aleksandra was fast asleep, so I gently picked her up and carried her over to her crib. When she was safely tucked into bed, I turned around, and found Dimitri standing right in front of me.

And before I could say anything, I was suddenly against the wall with Dimitri's lips on mine. The kiss was hot, and passionate and I couldn't make myself stop, even though I knew I had to go Guard Lissa. I let my fingers travel up Dimitri's shirt, and I was just about to pull it off when Lissa's emotions came through the bond.

She was annoyed. And mainly because I hadn't showed up yet.

I internally sighed, and then placed my hands on Dimitri's chest to make him stop.

"Sorry, but Lissa's not too happy about me being late... again."

Dimitri frowned, but nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, there's always time when I get back."

This seemed to lighten his mood significantly, which made me feel better about leaving.

I looked over to see Aleksandra peacefully sleeping, and couldn't help but smile. She had Dimitri's eyes, and most of his looks, but she definitely had my feisty personality, even at three months of age.

"I'm so glad you ended up being pregnant," Dimitri said as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "You make a wonderful mother."

I smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"And you make an even better dad."

Reluctantly, I made my way over to the door.

"I'll see you soon," I called back as I opened the door.

"Yes, you will Mrs. Belikov."

I bite my lip at this. I'm still not use to being referred to as "Mrs. Belikov," and even though we're not married yet, we will be soon. I can't help but glance down at the beautifully hand crafted diamond ring Dimitri proposed to me with a month after we had Aleksandra. I was stunned, and I know that we had agreed not to get married this soon, but after everything we had been through, I didn't hesitate in saying yes.

I closed the door behind me and started hurriedly making my way down the hallway.

And even though I knew I was going to get an earful from Lissa for being late, I couldn't help but smile.

I had a beautiful daughter, and I was finally going to be married to the man I loved, and we were going to be together for the rest of our lives.

'_Till death do us part.'_

But even when death comes knocking at our door step, I know I will fight to stay with him.

Because he is my everything, and I'm not about to give that up.

THE END

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><p><strong>Well, it's been a great journey, but it's finally over...<br>Thank you soooooooooooo much to everyone who has read this story, reviewed or added Sweet Revenge or myself to their favourites, or alerts! :D  
><strong>  
><strong>I have a few more story ideas, so if you like this story, I suggest you add me to your author alerts so that you can be notified when I upload a new story! Also, I'm going to start writing on my profile about story projects I'll be working on, so if you're interested in knowing about that then be sure to check my profile out in the next couple of hours or so (as I still need to write it hehe n_n). And if you have any questions or suggestions about any of those stories, you can PM me :)<strong>

**Anywho, feel free to review this story and let me know what you thought about it. Also, if there's anything else you want to see in my future VA stories, then let me know! :)**

**Have a good Christmas everyone and take care!**

**~ DaniellexangL3**


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